When Our Eyes Met
by Ultimate Rasengan
Summary: All Naruto mostly wanted in life was friends, but everyone just seems to hate him. Watch as he grows close bonds with his friends, especially with a particular Hyuuga girl, as he tries to accomplish his dream of becoming hokage and earn the respect of his village. NaruHina, with a couple of small side pairings I'll be working in in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1: The Truth

Chapter 1: The Truth

**Author's notes**

**Hi everybody, this is the first fanfic I've ever written, and really, the first story I've ever really written (besides school stuff of course). I really just got inspired to write from reading so many stories on this site, so finally got the motivation to make my own, hope you guys like it.**

**The story has a lot of A/U elements, but the events that take place are based on canon, but I've just sorta put my own twist on them. Naruto will be a little Out of Character, but mostly for good reason in this fic. The main couple of course will be Naruto and Hinata, but there are some other couples I hope to get in as well :P**

**Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own Naruto, but I sure wish I did.**

**Now on to the story, hope you enjoy** **it**.

**Chapter 1: The** **Truth**

Naruto screamed, "**Shadow clone Jutsu!**", suddenly the whole forest was filled with clones of Naruto all with furious looks on their face, Naruto watched on as his clones pummeled Mizuki to within an inch of death. Naruto was furious, he had just learned the reason behind the hatred toward him from the villagers from Mizuki. He was the container of the nine-tailed fox, the demon that almost destroyed their village 12 years ago.

He had always wondered why the villagers had hated him, why they gave him such cold stares as he walked down the street for no reason at all. The ones that wouldn't stare at him though, just didn't even acknowledge his presence at all, which was almost as bad to Naruto. Which resulted in him playing pranks on his village, just so he could feel acknowledged by his village.

As Iruka looked at his student he couldn't help but feel proud. He wasn't even a genin yet, but he took a chunin down with a high jonin level jutsu, the shadow clone jutsu was a very advance jutsu, and took a tremendous amount of chakra to use, and he had just created at least 100 clones and didn't look exhausted at all. It really confused him, because at the academy he couldn't even manage to create one clone, but now he could make 100 shadow clones? It just didn't add up, did Naruto really have this kind of potential all along?

"Iruka-sensei, are you mad at me?" Naruto asked hesitently.

Iruka looked confused, "Why would I be mad at you Naruto? You just saved me, and saved the scroll from being stolen, I'm actually very proud of you."

"You…..you're proud of me?" Naruto said with a very shocked expression.

"Well of course! Why shouldn't I be Naruto?"

"Because….because I'm a demon sensei… I'm the nine-tailed fox…" Naruto said with a sad look on his face

Iruka looked at him sternly, "Naruto! Listen to me, you are NOT a demon! Just because you have one sealed inside of you does not make you one understand?"

"But the same demon that lives inside of me killed your parents….. Does that not make you mad?" Naruto said with a confused look on his face.

"Naruto….. I would never blame you for the death of my parents, that was not your doing; it was the damn fox inside of you that killed them, not you Naruto, and anyone who tells you otherwise is a damn fool. You're not a demon Naruto, you're Naruto Uzumaki, don't ever forget that."

Naruto looked very shocked, he thought Iruka would hate him for what the demon inside him had done to his parents, just like everyone else in the village seemed too, but Iruka didn't hate him for it. He actually did look genuinely proud of Naruto, which made Naruto grin, he actually knew someone now that didn't hate him. Besides the Hokage, everyone else had always seemed to stare at him with hatred in their eyes, or just ignored him. Even all his classmates didn't like him, or at least that's what Naruto thought.

"Naruto, close your eyes, I have a surprise for you." Iruka said with a smile.

Naruto looked curiously at his sensei, but did as he was told, he felt him wrap something around his head…... that could only mean…...

"Alright Naruto, open your eyes!" Iruka said with excitement.

Naruto opened his eyes, and immediately reached for his forehead; it was just as he thought! It was a ninja forehead protector, a hitai-ate.

"So does this mean…."

"Yes, you are now a ninja Naruto!" Iruka said proudly.

Naruto's face completly lit up in joy, "YESSSSSSS! I'm a NINJA! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto said with as much excitement and energy that Iruka has ever seen from him, and that's saying a lot.

Iruka just chuckled at the boy's excitement and smiled.

Naruto couldn't believe it, all his life he had dreamed of becoming a ninja, many people had told him he couldn't do it, and it didn't matter how hard he tried he would never make it. Naruto just ignored them and kept pushing himself harder and harder, and now he had finally reached his goal! He couldn't wait to show off his headband to everyone, especially the ones that doubted him.

"Come on Naruto, I'll take you to Ichiraku's for some ramen to celebrate!"

When Naruto had the opportunity to get free food he never turned it down, especially ramen.

"Alright! Let's go" Naruto said happily.

"First things first though, we need to get this scroll back to the hokage and tell him what happened." Iruka said.

"Err… do you think he'll be mad at me for stealing the scroll?" Naruto asked with a bit of nervousness.

"Probably at first, but once we explain it wasn't your fault and tell him the story I'm sure he won't be mad at you." Iruka said.

Naruto looked relieved, "Well lets get it over with then".

Naruto and Iruka made their way to the hokage's office, when they got there he looked very worried and mad.

"NARUTO! What were you thinking! Stealing the forbidden scroll is a very serious offense!" the Hokage said very angrily.

"Hokage-sama, please hear me out, it was not Naruto's fault it was Mizuki who tricked him into stealing it." Iruka said.

The Hokage looked at him shocked, "Mizuki? He was always one of the best and upcoming ninja of this village! Tell me the whole story."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Iruka said as he began his tale.

Iruka then went on to tell the Hokage everything that had happened, with Naruto also adding in to the story a few times as well. Sarutobi looked very disappointed after they had got done telling their story.

"I can't believe Mizuki would do that, he always seemed to me to be a very loyal and strong Konoha shinobi... but I've learned over the years even your best friends cannot be trusted sometimes... and now Mizuki has fooled us all, but thanks to you two he didn't get away with it." Hokage then looked at Naruto with a smile, "You proved today that you are definitely worthy of that headband Naruto, beating a chunin is no easy task, especially for someone who wasn't even a genin at the time." Sarutobi said proudly.

Naruto looked very proud of the hokage's words, any compliment coming from the hokage was definitely as high as they come, "Thank you Hokage-sama" Naruto said smiling almost as hard as he could.

"Well it's getting late, if ya'll are going to celebrate then you better get going." Sarutobi said smiling.

"Yes, let's go Naruto." Iruka said, relieved that everything had worked out as planned.

"By the way Naruto, if you ever need anything or someone to talk to, just remember, my door is always open for you." Sarutobi said.

Naruto looked at the hokage and smiled "Thanks old man," then turned and left with Iruka.

Sarutobi then leaned back in his chair as he watched them leave, 'He is going to make a great shinobi one day, heck, maybe even become Hokage. He certainly has the potential, and Kami knows I can't do this for much longer.' Sarutobi thought. 'I really do hope his dream will become reality.'

Iruka and Naruto finally made it to Ichiraku's, it was Naruto's favorite place to eat, mostly because it was the only place he was actually allowed to eat at in Konoha and not be thrown out, but they definitely did make great ramen though.

Naruto smiled at the old man who owned the restaurant and his daughter who worked with him, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. Besides the hokage and Iruka sensei they were the only ones in town who really treated him with respect and acted nicely towards him.

"Well, if it isn't my two best customers in the whole town!" Teuchi said very loudly, "and looky there! My favorite customer has finally reached his goal of becoming a ninja!"

Naruto smiled at Teuchi with great pride in himself, "That's right old man! It was tough, but Naruto Uzumaki never gives up! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto said his catchphrase louder than ever.

Iruka looked at him chuckling, "You really need a new catchphrase Naruto, that one is starting to get old."

"What?! No way sensei, there's no way I'd ever give up saying that! They are my favorite two words in the whole world! If I ever stopped saying it people wouldn't believe me you know? Believe it!" Naruto said with a smirk.

Iruka knowing that he wouldn't be able to get Naruto to ever stop saying that just sighed, and they both finally sat down to get their orders taken. Eventually their food came, Iruka just ordered one bowl of miso ramen, but Naruto ended up getting three bowls of miso ramen, 2 bowls of beef ramen, and 3 bowls of chicken ramen!

Iruka sweatdropped, watching Naruto eat his ramen was really a spectacle, and disgusting too. The kid had absolutely no manners at all, and he was a bottomless pit. Worst of all the he knew he was gonna have quite a large bill to pay when he was done. It was ok though, this was a big day for Naruto, and he deserved to eat as much as he wanted.

Iruka's eyeballs just about came completely out of his head when he saw the bill, but he paid up. He started mumbling about never ever doing this again, but he knew it wouldn't be the last time they ever ate there, but maybe next time Naruto could pay. He'll be doing missions soon so he should have plenty of money to pay he thought with a grin.

"Hey sensei…." Naruto said weakly.

"Yes, Naruto? What is it?" Iruka said with a bit of concern.

"Well I was just wondering…. Well…... Why don't you hate me...? I mean all the other villagers do, yet your own parents died at the hand of the fox, yet you don't seem to dislike me at all… why?" Naruto asked puzzled.

Iruka just sighed, and leaned in closer to Naruto and put a hand around his shoulder, "Because I see a lot of me in you" he said smiling, but then he quickly started frowning. "The villagers hate you because they don't understand you Naruto, but I do. They think that the demon is you, so they hate you for it, but I know that's not true, and anyone else who knows you knows it to. Hopefully one day, they will too." Iruka said smiling again.

Naruto looked at him confused at first, but then smiled, "Thank you, sensei...For being my friend."

"You're welcome Naruto, and thank you for being mine." Iruka said with a smile, "Now get on home and get some rest, tomorrow is the big day that I announce the teams and you get introduced to your sensei, so you'll need your rest"

"Alright!" Naruto said with excitement, "I'll see you tomorrow then sensei!"

"Alright, good night Naruto."

"Goodnight sensei."

When Naruto got home to his apartment, he immediately hit his bed with a loud thud. He was really tired, and really stuffed.

'It's good to know I have a friend. I have been so blind, I thought that pulling pranks and being a loud mouth in school would eventually get me noticed, and I'd make friends. I know that's wrong now, I just need to be myself, and eventually I will make friends, hopefully a lot of them.' Naruto thought, 'Tomorrow Naruto Uzumaki is a changed man.'

Then with a grin on his face Naruto feel into a deep sleep.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto awoke the next morning feeling good, he was ready to show everyone who he really was, and he was also really excited to meet his teammates, and his new sensei.

As he walked down the streets of Konoha the stares and glares of hatred were there as always. Naruto was glad he finally understood why they looked at him like that, but it still didn't make him any less mad at them. If Iruka could be friends with him and not see him as a demon why couldn't they?

Naruto finally made it to the academy bursting with excitement. As he opened the door the class room looked the same as ever. Sakura and Ino were both fighting over who Sasuke liked more and trying to get his attention. Sasuke just sat there quiet as usual and ignoring them. Shikamaru was taking a nap, and next to him Choji was munching on a bag of chips so loudly he couldn't see how Shikamaru was sleeping through it. Shino was sitting there emotionless as ever, and looking straight ahead. Kiba was playing with his dog Akamaru and smiling. Naruto smiled, 'He really does love his dog' Naruto thought, 'Kinda makes me wish I had one.'

Naruto had actually tried to get a dog one time, but all dogs seemed to not like him very much. He never really understood before, but he guessed it had something to do with the nine-tailed fox.

Much to the surprise of everyone Naruto walked straight passed his usual spot near Sasuke and Sakura and walked straight to an empty seat. He had a big crush on Sakura, and had trying asking her out on a date so many times that he couldn't remember anymore. Every time she had said no though, and was usually very mean about it, and just seemed to hate Naruto even more everytime he asked. Naruto decided he didn't want to be around people like that anymore so he just walked right past her. He still had feelings for her of course, but she was just so mean to him that it really did hurt him inside. He didn't ever let it show though of course, but it really did hurt whether she knew it or not.

He was glad that she didn't really care that he had sat somewhere else today. 'She's probably glad,' he thought to himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a girl that he couldn't really remember ever seeing before. She had short raven colored hair, and she was fairly pale, but it seemed to suit her. Her eyes were very mystifying. They were white and blank, and she had no pupils, but at the same time they were still very beautiful he thought to himself. She wore a long cream-coloured hooded jacket that looked very cozy, and navy blue pants.

She turned around and looked at him, but as soon as their eyes met she turned around very quickly and her face turned a bright red, as she started poking her fingers together like she was nervous.

'Weird', Naruto thought to himself, as he looked at her confused before turning around himself.

For some reason though he hoped she would end up on his team. He didn't know why, especially since he didn't even know her name, but just from looking at her he could tell she was strong, and seemed like someone Naruto would want to be friends with, not all the other jerks in his class that seemed to hate him.

Hinata was very happy to see Naruto had passed his exam; she had a very big crush on him since the first time she laid eyes on him. His determination and his courage are what really attracted her to him. He was just so determined to become hokage one day, that it really made her envious of him. Add the fact that he was also probably the cutest boy she had ever seen, and you could say that Hinata was pretty crazy about him.

Sad thing was he didn't even know she existed, she was to shy to ever talk to him, and he was always trying to flirt with Sakura, and ask her out. It really made Hinata feel very jealous everytime he did, in a way she was glad Sakura turned him down every time, but it also made her sad as well, because even though no one else could see it, it really made Naruto very sad every time she rejected him, and he hated it when he was sad, it just did not suite him at all. She cursed herself today as she realized she probably would never see Naruto again as she had thought he had failed his exam. She had never gotten a chance to try and talk to him, and she cursed herself for that.

When he walked through the door today with his hitai-ate on though, she was very happy. Somehow he had passed and now there was a chance they could end up on the same team together! Then she could hopefully be able to talk to him then, and hopefully become friends! It excited her just thinking about it.

She was surprised to see he had sat in a different seat today, away from Sakura and by himself. She wondered what had gotten into him, when she looked over to look at him, he was staring straight at her with his big blue bright eyes. It instantly made Hinata look away and turn red, she started poking her fingers together as she did when she got nervous. She was ecstatic though, that was the first time Naruto had actually ever looked at her and noticed her, and it made her happy, but also kind of nervous as well. 'I really do hope we are on the same team' she thought to herself. Just at that moment Iruka sensei had walked through the door with a smile on his face, ready to tell them their fate.

Naruto smiled as Iruka sensei walked through the door. It was kind of bittersweet to leave the academy, because he knew he wouldn't be seeing his sensei as much anymore, but he was definitely ready to start his new life as a ninja, and eventually become the Hokage one day.

Iruka started speaking "Hello class! As you all know today you will be teamed up into teams of three people and assigned a Jonin as your sensei, you all are now ready to start your new life as a ninja. I'm very proud of each and every one of you, and hope you are excited!" Iruka said with enthusiasm. "Any questions?"

Sasuke raised his hand.

"Yes, Sasuke."

"I think I speak for everyone when I ask why is that loser Naruto here? Last time I checked He had failed his exam, and very badly at that." Sasuke said coldly

"Yeah!" Sakura said, "He didn't pass! He shouldn't be here!" she said angrily.

Much to everyone's surprisement, Naruto just sat there without saying a word. This was very unusual for him, as even the slightest bad thing said about him would have him screaming and throwing a fit.

Sasuke looked up at him curiously, "Well? Are you gonna say something loser?" Sasuke said staring coldly at Naruto.

Naruto looked back at him and glared, "Why would I have anything to say to an idiot like you?" Naruto said, angering the Uchiha boy greatly.

"What did you say to me loser!?"

"You heard me, I knew you were stupid, just not blind. Incase you haven't noticed Sasuke, I'm wearing a hitai-ate, which means I DID pass the exam. So please, don't embarrass yourself anymore and just turn around while you still have the chance." Naruto said in a serious tone.

Everyone looked around shocked, even though Sakura, Ino, and especially Sasuke himself would never admit it; Naruto had just made Sasuke look like a complete fool, when it was always the other way around in the past.

Much to the surprisement of everyone, Sasuke just turned around and actually looked a little embarressed. Which was something never shown on his face before.

'I'll make you pay for that Naruto, one day soon, I promise.' Sasuke thought to himself, as he grinded his teeth together.

Iruka finally broke the silence, "Well now that, that is taken care of, it's time to announce your teams!"

"Alright, on Team 7 it will be Sakura, Shikamaru, and Sasuke." Sakura looked ecstatic; she was going to be on the team with the boy she loved, it had to be destiny she thought to herself. Sasuke and Shikamaru both looked like they could care less.

Naruto chuckled, 'They should make a great team,' he said to himself sarcastically, 'Shikamaru and Sasuke should get a long, but Sakura is so different from them, and they both seem to hate her.' The more he thought about them working together the more he chuckled.

Hinata was happy, Naruto wouldn't be on a team with Sakura, and now he had a better chance of being on a team with her.

"Alright, now it's time to call out the members of Team 8!" Iruka said with just as much enthusiasm as he had before.

"On Team 8 it will be Hinata Hyuga," as soon as she heard her name she crossed her fingers and prayed Naruto would be on it, 'Please let Naruto be on my team' she thought to herself.

"Kiba Inuzuka."

Hinata crossed her fingers and prayed even harder, if anyone looked at her right now they would probably think she was a freak, but she didn't really care at this moment.

"And finally, Naruto Uzumaki!" Iruka said very loudly and proudly.

Hinata thought she was in a dream; she was on a team with Naruto! This couldn't be any better for her she thought. Kiba seems like a nice guy as well, we should all get a long great! I just hope I can be less shy around Naruto now.

Naruto was happy as well, he was on the team with the raven haired girl like he wanted to be, and now he knew her name. Kiba seemed like a nice guy too, and he was really the only one in the class who hadn't been completly mean to him in the past. His dog didn't really like Naruto that much though, but he's sure Akamaru would get over it eventually.

Kiba was a bit sad, he had hoped he would be on the same team as Ino, he had secretly had a crush on her since the day he saw her. He had tried talking to her before, but she didn't to care at all about what he had to say, all she seemed to care about was that damn Uchiha kid. He didn't know what was so special about him, but it really pissed him off. At least he could stand his teammates though, he didn't really know either of them well, especially Hinata. She did seem like she was a nice girl though, and definitely the strongest kunoichi of the class. Naruto was cool with Kiba to; he never really understood why people picked on him so much, and talked bad about him. They seemed to have pretty similar personalities, so hopefully they can be friends. Akamaru didn't seem to like him though, but his dog didn't like many people anyway, so he'll just have to get over it he thought to himself.

"and now that leaves three people left, so no excitement for the announcement of this team" Iruka said.

"On Team 9 it will be Ino, Choji, and Shino." Iruka said, as he closed his journal.

'Wow that's definitely a pairing to' Naruto said to himself. 'They are all so different, looks like our team might just be the best afterall.' Naruto thought proudly.

Ino was pretty mad, this had to be the worst pairing possible, and Sakura is on a team with Sasuke?! This is just completly awful she thought.

Choji just kept eating his chips, looking a little worried himself.

Shino just sat there unemotionless as ever, inside he was worried himself about that pairing, but he thought it would work out though in the end.

"Well that's that," Iruka said. "You're sensei's will be here in 2 hours, in the mean time you should all go out and get to know your teammates." Iruka said, turning and leaving the classroom.

The whole class then did the same, and left the classroom. Naruto was outside looking around for his teammates, he wanted to get to know a little more about them like Iruka told them to, but he couldn't seem to find any of them anywhere.

Naruto finally spotted Kiba sitting against a tree peting Akamaru, so Naruto headed over to him and sat down beside him.

"Well, I guess we are team mates huh?" Naruto said sorta awkwardly, he didn't really know Kiba that well, but he seemed alright to him though, definitely better than the others.

"So it seems." Kiba said a little awkwardly as well.

Things were pretty silent for about a minute until Naruto decided to finally speak up, "So…... do you like ramen?" Naruto asked.

"Hmm, that's a weird question, well it's not my favorite food, but yeah I guess it's alright us Inuzukas have strange appetites though." Kiba said.

"Yeah, I noticed that when I saw you eating Akamaru's dog food one day!" Naruto said laughing.

"HEY! It's not that bad actually you idiot! Maybe you should try it, I think you'd like it." Kiba said with a grin.

"Ha, I love food, but I don't think I'd ever eat dog food unless I had to." Naruto said, still chuckling a little bit.

"Well, we'll be together a lot from now on, so maybe you'll have to eventually if times ever get rough." Kiba said chuckling a little bit now to.

After that they seemed to connect really well, and had quickly became good friends in just a few minutes. It really made Naruto happy to know he had just made a new friend, one he would be spending a lot of time with, and one that was actually his age for once.

As they were talking about cool jutsus and techniques they knew, it had finally dawned on Naruto that something wasn't right, and then he realized what it was.

"Hey Kiba, I just realized something, where is Hinata at? I wanted to meet her to before we met our senseis!" Naruto said.

"To be honest, I have no idea. I was trying to actually talk to her myself, but then I saw her quickly walking away from the academy, so I decided I'd just sit here and wait it out till our sensei came. Then you showed up of course."

"Sounds like she might not be to happy to be in our group then." Naruto said frowning.

"Eh, I don't know, she's always been kind of weird and shy, she probably was just to shy to talk to us."

"I hope so," Naruto said with a look of concern on his face. "Which way did she head by the way?"

"North of here," Kiba said. "Why you wanna know?"

"I think I'm gonna go see if I can find her, I'll see you back at the academy in a few."

"Alright man, see ya." Kiba said with a grin.

'He must like this girl or somethin'' Kiba thought to himself, as he watched his new friend take off in the direction he had pointed.

Hinata was mad at herself, she had finally got in a team with Naruto but she was to shy to even talk to him after the teams had been announced. She cursed herself for her shyness; she hoped it would go away in time she thought.

Eventually it was time to head back to the academy, but standing between her way to the academy was actually the boy she had been trying to avoid because of her shyness, standing there with a grin on his face.

"Hi Hinata," Naruto said with a smile.

Hinata looked like she could faint, "H-h-hello N-Naruto" she said stuttering a little.

Naruto could see the nervousness in her tone, and was glad that he realized that she was probably just to shy to talk to them like Kiba had said, instead of it being that she didn't like her team.

"I was hoping I'd find you, and it's about time to head back and meet our sensei, come on let's walk together."

"O-ok" Hinata said shyly again.

"So are you excited to be a ninja?" Naruto asked.

"Well… um… yes... of course." she said weakly. She was still very nervous to be talking to Naruto, and was trying to calm down, but just couldn't for some reason.

"Ha! You don't really sound like it, but I believe you." Naruto said with a smile, which made Hinata blush a little.

"You do look strong, definitely compared to Sakura and Ino. I was very glad when they announced the teams and you were on my team." Naruto said continuing to smile.

Hinata couldn't believe it, he had just said he was glad she was on his team and not Sakura or Ino. It was hard to believe though, because she knew he liked Sakura a lot, so why would he want her on his team more than her?

"D-do you really mean that N-Naruto?" she said with a very big blush.

"Well yeah! I mean, I like Sakura and all, but she's always so mean to me. I didn't want someone like that on my team." Naruto said, then he turned and looked directly at Hinata, "And because you seemed like someone I wanted to get to know." Naruto said with a huge grin.

This made Hinata turn about as red as she had ever gotten before, and that's saying something.

'He actually wants to get to know me? I didn't even think he knew I existed until today. This has to be one of the best days of my life' she thought to herself.

"I-I'd like to get to know you to N-Naruto" she said, barely able to keep from fainting.

He just smiled at her and continued walking; they hadn't even noticed that they were so close to the academy because of how much they were into their conversation.

Naruto smirked, "Last one there is a rotten egg!" Naruto shouted, as he started to run, Hinata right behind him.

They ran through the door at the same time and ran up to sit beside Kiba.

"Well hi Hinata, I'm glad to see you could make it, I couldn't find you anywhere after everyone left." Kiba said after they sat down.

"Sorry, I had to go take care of something…" Hinata lied as the real reason she left was because she was to nervous to talk to Naruto.

"Well I'm glad that both of you are on my team" Kiba said with a grin, "We should make a very good and strong team."

"I-I'm glad too," Hinata said smiling.

"Me to! We are gonna be the best and strongest ninja team ever! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto said with confidence.

Hinata and Kiba both chuckled at the boys energy and his commonly used catchphrase.

As soon as they got done chuckling though, the door swung open.

"I'm the sensei for Team 8, please come down."

Naruto took a long look at their jounin sensei, "This should be interesting," he said.

Kiba and Hinata both nodded their heads in agreement.

**Author's Notes**

**Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of my first fanfic, no real fighting scenes in this chapter, but I hope to add a good bit of them in the next chapter. I'm going to try to update this fic about every three or four days.**

**Read and Review please, me being a first time author, I know I have a lot to improve on, so any constructive critiscism or ideas for my story are really very appreciated.**

**Goodbye, and have a nice day!**

**-** **Riley**


	2. Chapter 2: Training Nightmare

Chapter 2: Training Nightmare

**Author's Notes**

**Made a few changes to my first chapter, mostly just grammatical mistakes, and added a sentence or two in there to help things make more sense.**

**I'd also like to say that although a lot of the jutsus I use in my story will be real, I've also got a few that I've made up and will probably be using in my story at some point, just letting ya'll know.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, but a guy can dream right?**

**Anyway, time for Chapter 2! Hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 2: Training Nightmare**

Kurenai was eager to meet her new students, from what she had heard they all had great potential to become very strong shinobi, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, and Naruto Uzumaki. Kiba and Hinata both had genes from two separate families that were known for having strong shinobi. She wasn't sure about Naruto, but from what she had heard from Iruka he definitely had the talent to become a great shinobi as well. He just needed the right teacher to bring it out.

She also knew he had the nine-tailed fox inside of him, which could either hurt or help her team depending on the situation. Jinchuuriki that she had met in the past had contained a great deal of chakra and were usually very strong, but she had also seen the ones that had been eaten up by the monster inside of them, and were usually very crazy and dangerous. She hoped she could turn Naruto's monster inside of him into an advantage for him, but she wasn't quite sure how to go about doing that, she would have to be very careful about it.

She had finally made it to the academy, as she opened the door she noticed the other teams were still there waiting for their senseis to show up. 'Well I shouldn't be surprised I'm the first one here.' She said to herself, 'Kakashi is always late for everything, and Asama probably forgot all about it knowing him.'

"I'm the sensei for Team 8, please come down." she finally said.

"This should be interesting." Naruto said after looking at her.

Kiba and Hinata both nodded their heads.

Their sensei was a woman with dark hair and a very mysterious pair of bright red eyes. They were kind of menacing, but at the same time they were also very beautiful. The she outfit wore was kind of weird, it sorta looked like bandages, but somehow it suited her. Overall she was pretty intimidating.

'She definitely looks strong.' Naruto thought to himself as he made his way down with his teammates to meet her.

"Ah, you guys are my team huh? I'm glad to meet you all. Come on let's go to the top of the building so we can get some privacy" Kurenai said, and then somehow absorbed into the ground and disappeared, shocking her genin team.

'Man, I've gotta learn how to do that' Naruto thought to himself, as he walked with his teammates to the top of the building.

When they got there Kurenai was already there of course looking kind of bored.

"What took you guys so long? Come on sit." She said.

They all did as she said and sat down in a circle around her.

'They all look pretty nervous' she thought to herself, 'especially the Hyuga girl, she looks like she could faint, guess I better start before she does.'

"Well hello everyone, my name is Kurenai Yuhi, and as you all know I'm going to be your sensei, you guys are also my first genin team ever, as I just recently became a jonin. Now I'd like to know a little about yourselves and your goals, Kiba would you start?"

Kiba looked up confidently, "Sure sensei, my name is Kiba Inuzuka, I'm a pretty laid back guy, but when I get mad I can get kind of ferocious. I'm very protective of people I care about, especially my mom and my sister. I hope to one day become the strongest in my clan and make everyone proud."

"Alright, good Kiba, Hinata your turn" Kurenai said.

Hinata looked like she could faint; she wasn't really use to speaking in front of a bunch of people so it made her pretty nervous. It didn't help that Naruto was there watching her as well.

Naruto could see that Hinata was very nervous when she started poking her fingers together, so he did the only thing he could really think of.

"Hey Hinata, I know you can do it" He whispered in her ear, so no one else could hear it, he didn't want to embarrass her farther. He knew he had to say it though, because whenever Naruto was nervous about something, encouragement just always seemed to help him. He didn't get much of it of course, but when he did it did help him a lot, so he thought it'd help her.

It seems that it did as she smiled at him, and instantly started looking less nervous and started to speak.

"My name is Hinata Hyuga, I guess you could say I'm fairly quiet, and shy around others, I hope to one day become a strong ninja so I can earn the respect of my father, and make him and the others of my clan proud of me." She said with a bit of sadness

Kurenai looked at her student and saw she looked sad when she said the last part. She knew the Hyugas were a very respected clan of Konoha, but she also knew they could be cruel and unforgiving as well. She just hoped they weren't to harsh on Hinata, she didn't seem as thick skinned as the other hyugas of her clan seemed to be.

"Alright, good Hinata, ok Naruto your turn."

Naruto smiled and looked straight at his sensei, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I think I'm a pretty cool guy, but a lot of people don't like me for some reason and don't respect me. That's why my goal is to become Hokage, so I can earn the respect of this village, and so I can protect the ones that are dear to me!" Naruto said proudly.

"Good" Kurenai said, "You all have good goals to work towards, and you all wanna get stronger, which makes my job a lot easier. I'm going to try to bring out the best of every one of you, but to do this you're going have to follow everything I say and always try your hardest. From now on you all are my teammates and I will protect you with my life, and I expect you all to do the same for each other as well." Kurenai said with a firm voice.

She smiled when she saw everyone nod their heads in agreement.

"Now the world you've known so far in life is going to change a lot, out there on missions there will be ninjas trying to kill you, so you always have to be on your guard at all times. That is what being a ninja is all about, not only will you have to kill somebody eventually, but you'll also have to watch people you care about die at your feet as well, which can really be devastating." Kurenai frowned, "They say that being a ninja you aren't suppose to ever show your emotions, but I don't believe that, I think that having close bonds with people can make you stronger, and showing no emotions is just asking to much out of a human being." She said strongly.

"Now do you all understand this?" she asked.

They all nodded their heads.

"Well good, now we will begin our first training session tonight at seven, and end at ten, I mostly just wanna see what all of you are capable of tonight before we start our real training in the morning. Any questions?"

Naruto raised his hand.

"Yes Naruto?"

"When will we be going on missions sensei? I'm really pumped to start my first mission as a ninja!" Naruto said with eagerness.

"Yeah me too!" Kiba said with almost as much eagerness as Naruto.

Kurenai looked at them with a smile, "Impatient bunch aren't ya? Well you all are going to have to wait a little while, we will start going on missions as soon as I see fit. It might be a week from now or it could be a year, we'll just have to see"

"Hey that's not fair!" Naruto said yelling, "I don't wanna wait up to a year to do a mission!"

"Well you better impress me tonight then" Kurenai said with a smirk. "Alright then, I'll meet you all tonight at seven, at training area 13, be sure to bring all your gear and eat something before you come so you'll have some energy" With that Kurenai did her cool trick again and absorbed into the ground and disappeared just like when they met her.

"Man she's really gotta teach us how to do that!" Naruto said amazed.

"Haha yeah, that is a pretty cool trick." Kiba said. "Anyway I gotta get going, I told my mom I'd go help her with some errands and tell her about who my sensei is, I'll see you guys at seven."

"Alright, see you later man." Naruto said.

"Bye Kiba." Hinata said as well.

Kiba then turned and left leaving Hinata and Naruto alone.

"So… we got about two hours till seven, wanna go do something?" Naruto asked.

"Umm…. Like what?" Hinata said starting to blush again.

"Ummm…..hmmmm let me think…" Naruto then made a face that looked like he was deeply concentrating and that it hurt, which made Hinata giggle a little.

"Do you like ramen noodles?" he finally said after about a minute.

"Well, yes, I love ramen noodles." Hinata said a bit confused.

"Good! We'll go get some at Ichiraku's then! They make the best in town." Naruto said happily.

Hinata couldn't believe it at first; he wanted to take her out to eat? She had dreamed of him taking her somewhere to eat before, but she never thought it would happen, and now it is.

"A-are you s-sure you wanna take m-me?" She said nervously starting to turn even a dark crimson, and poking her fingers together.

"Well of course Hinata, me and you are friends! Plus the sensei said we needed to eat before we go, so we might as well go somewhere good." He said grinning.

Yup, Hinata had to be in a dream; Naruto Uzumaki had just said they were friends! She never thought this day would come, it was just too good to be true for Hinata.

She was so stunned she just sorta zoned out for a minute. Naruto got the wrong impression though as he started to frown and wave his hands over her face, which didn't help at all.

'Damn it, why do I always have to screw things up!' Naruto said to himself, 'I shouldn't have said we were friends, and I mean, why would she wanna be friends with me anyway, I'm a demon! I've scared her so bad of the thought of me and her being friends that she's in shock, gosh I'm an idiot.'

"I'm sorry Hinata, you don't have to go if you don't want to" Naruto said very sadly.

This instantly brought Hinata out of her trance, "What…!?" but he was already starting to walk away, "Wait….. Naruto!"

"You don't have to say anything, I understand." He said as he started to walk away again.

"Wait! I do wanna go with you!" she yelled at him.

Naruto turned around shocked, one because that was the first time he had ever heard her yell, and two because she actually did wanna go with him.

"Really?" he asked still shocked.

"Yes." She said with a big smile.

'Wow, she really looks pretty when she smiles' he thought to himself. 'Maybe I….. nahhh that can't be right'

"Well I'm really glad you do" he finally said with a smile, "Let's go get some food! I'm starving! Last one there has to buy!"

And just like that they took off over the rooftops of Konoha, laughing the whole time, and trying to beat each other. Naruto ended up beating Hinata, but he said he'd pay anyway.

"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite customer! I see you brought a friend to!" Teuchi said with a grin and winking at Naruto, Naruto being as clueless as he is though didn't pick up on it of course, and just thought he must have something stuck in his eye. Hinata did though and blushed a little.

"Yeah! This is my teammate Hinata!" Naruto said as loudly as ever.

"Hi nice to meet you" Hinata said politely.

"Nice to meet you too! Come on, sit down and order something."

As they sat down, they both looked over the menu, there was so many different kinds of ramen, it made Naruto drool just looking at it. Hinata was having a hard time deciding what she was gonna get.

"Wow, there's so many different kinds of ramen, some of these I didn't even know existed!" She said a little shocked.

"Yeah, maybe I should get one of each" Naruto said drooling, which made Hinata giggle, she didn't know he was actually being serious until the waiter came and he ordered every ramen they had. She just settled on one bowl of miso ramen.

When it finally came, she couldn't believe her eyes, she had never seen so many bowls of ramen before. Naruto was already on his 3rd bowl though before she knew it though.

"Are you really going to eat all of that?" Hinata said with disbelief.

"Well… umm….. Yeah, you can have a bowl if you want though, I don't mind" He said with a goofy look on his face.

"Oh no, it's ok I just don't see how someone could eat that much." She said giggling a bit.

"Well I have a bottomless pit for a stomach, I could probably eat a whole whale if I had to" He said grinning, which made Hinata laugh.

Eventually he did go through on his promise and ate every bowl and then they left for the training grounds. Hinata felt great, she had just ate at a restaurant with the boy of her dreams! Even though she knew it wasn't a date, she couldn't help but see it as one though, as her and Naruto continued walking towards the training grounds, she couldn't help but smile everytime she looked at him.

They eventually made it to the training grounds at 6:59, and Kiba was already there waiting, and looking impatient.

"Talk about cutting it short guys! I thought you guys weren't gonna show up for a minute there!" Kiba said. Akamaru barked in compliance to.

"We just lost track of time, but we're here so no need to sweat about it Kiba." Naruto said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't scare me like that again, that woman is scary, and I don't wanna be here by myself with her!" Kiba said.

Suddenly something popped up behind Kiba and Akamaru.

"So I'm scary huh?" Kurenai said with a mad and evil voice.

This made Kiba jump back at least 10 feet, as he fell face first into the dirt, and Akamaru ran off as fast as he could and hide behind a tree, whimpering like a little puppy.

Naruto, Hinata, and even Kurenai both started laughing hysterically.

"HAHA! She got you good Kiba!" Naruto said laughing really hard.

Kiba turned really red from embarrassment, "Ah shut up Naruto, and she didn't scare me! I just tripped!" he said defensively.

"Yeah, after you ran back 10 feet! HAHA!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, can we just get on with it already" Kiba said pouting.

"Alright, alright, Kiba is actually right, we need to get started." Kurenai said still chuckling a little.

They all stopped laughing, and paid their full attention to their sensei.

"Alright guys, your first training task is simple, the first one to hit me wins." Kurenai said with a bit of a smirk.

Naruto looked confused, "That's it? You just want us to hit you?"

"That's correct Naruto, but it must be a clean hit, and if one of you can cleanly hit me before ten o'clock, then we will start doing missions next week."

The whole teams face lit up, "Alright! We're gonna get to do missions!" Naruto said smiling.

"Ha, you really think it will be easy do you?" Kurenai asked.

"Well yeah, we got 3 hours to hit you, and it's three against one! You don't stand a chance" Naruto said smirking.

"Your confidence is admirable, but also idiotic, never underestimate your opponent, no matter what, it could cost you your life or another's life if you don't" Kurenai said a bit coldly.

"Eh, we'll see" Naruto said, still blooming with confidence.

"I suppose we will" Kurenai said smiling at her student. 'He's such a knucklehead, but I do admire his determination and confidence.' Kurenai thought to herself.

"Alright, when I say go you may begin, ready… set….."

Naruto flew threw the air ignoring Kurenai's orders and directing a punch right at her, much to his surprise, she caught his fist before it could ever come close to connecting, and pulled his hand behind his back in such a fast motion he didn't know she'd actually done it for a few seconds.

"I didn't say go" she whispered to Naruto and let go of him.

Hinata and Kiba were both shocked as Naruto was; they had never seen anyone move as fast as she just did.

"This is going to be tougher than I thought" Kiba said still a bit shocked.

Hinata just nodded her head as Naruto rejoined them.

"Ok, now let's try this again shall we? Ready….. Set….. GO!" she yelled.

All three of them attacked her as quickly as they could, but she was just to fast. She dodged and blocked every attack like it was child's play. This all made them all very angry and their attacks sped up a little, but it still didn't matter, she was just to fast.

Eventually she grew tired of watching them attacking her, so she kicked Naruto into the lake, and grabbed Kiba and Hinata's hands and threw them in to, soaking every one of them. As they climbed out, Kurenai was just standing there smirking.

"You see, you guys underestimated me, I am a jonin for a reason, and I am very much known for my speed, so hitting me won't be some simple task like you all thought."

She suddenly absorbed into the ground and disappeared like she had before.

"Ugh, there she goes doing that trick again!" Kiba said angrily.

"Looks like we're gonna have to split up, Hinata you go west, Kiba you go east, Akamaru you go south, and I'll go north. Try to hold her off as long as you can until we can arrive to help." Naruto said, and then they all took off.

'Hah, that won't work against me' Kurenai said as she suddenly came out of a tree after they left she had been hiding in. 'they don't stand a chance fighting me by themselves, guess I'll make them pay.' Kurenai thought with an evil smirk on her face. Although Kurenai was generally really nice, she could be evil at times to, and her evil side was definitely showing right now.

'Hmm who should I pick out first' then she heard Kiba yell in the distance not to far. 'They really have a lot to learn, giving out their position due to frustration is very stupid and can cost lives' This she all knew to well she thought before taking off after him.

"Where is she?" Kiba said to himself, he was starting to get frustrated; usually his sense of smell which was actually the strength of dog's due to his clan's genes would always lead him to his target. He wasn't getting any leads though and was getting mad.

"Having trouble huh Kiba?" he heard a voice say behind him, he turned around to see exactly who he thought, his sensei.

"Not as much trouble as you will be having in a minute." He said smirking.

"Ha, prove it" she said smirking back.

"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you!"

Kiba then went into his clan's famous four legs technique taijutsu stance, and started attacking Kurenai viciously. Kurenai was impressed, he was much faster and seemed stronger in this stance to, it wasn't nearly enough to get near to hitting her, but still impressed her nonetheless.

Kiba kept attacking, but all he was hitting was air, he wish he had Akamaru here to help him, a lot of his jutsus revolved around him and his partner, but without him they were worthless. He did have one jutsu he could use though without him, and knew he had to.

Kiba suddenly stopped attacking much to Kurenai's surprise.

"You tired already? I thought you had much more than that Kiba." She said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"HA! I'm actually just getting started! Now let's see you get past this!"

He then started making hand signs which surprised Kurenai, she thought all Inuzukas needed their partners to perform their jutsus, but apparently somehow he had found a way to perform one without Akamaru, the boy truly was talented.

"Now taste this! **Spinning Twister Jutsu!"** he finally yelled, his claws seemed to poke out even farther then normal and suddenly he became a furious twister heading straight towards her, she didn't have much time to think until he was already on her.

As soon as he got her into his twister, he clawed her as furious as he could before his twister jutsu ended. When it was over he felt very proud of himself.

"I did it, I won!" he yelled, "Now you have to let us do missions next week!" he said with a smirk.

His sensei did not move at all however, and didn't appear to be breathing.

"Sensei?" he said with concern, then it hit him like a ton of bricks, "Oh no….. I killed her!" he yelled, he was to concerned about getting as many hits on her he didn't realize he had over done it and tore her apart.

He was about to break down and start crying, when suddenly her body 'poofed' and turned into a log with many scratch marks on it.

"A substitution jutsu!" He yelled.

Then Kurenai finally spoke up from her hiding place "Haha, that's right, you thought you had me didn't you? I'm sorry for making you think I had died though, I kinda over did it there."

Kiba tried to track the voice, but it seemed to be coming from every direction….

"Where are you?!" Kiba screamed.

"Right here." She suddenly appeared out of a tree right in front of him and with one swift and strong kick to the stomach, knocked Kiba out.

"You fought good Kiba, you didn't even have Akamaru and you still put up a good fight, I'm definitely impressed." She said standing over his unconscious body.

Then she heard what sounded like footsteps coming her way, she searched the forest and found it was Hinata, she must have heard when Kiba screamed his jutsu and headed this way.

'Hmm I have the perfect genjutsu for her', she thought evilly, as she went back into a tree to hide again.

Hinata had heard Kiba's scream and was heading his way to help. She knew there was no way he could take her on a lone so she had to help.

When she got there she could see Kiba's unconscious body on the ground, she headed over to him quickly.

"Kiba are you ok?" Hinata said with concern for her teammate, she calmed when she saw he was breathing and didn't really seem that hurt, but when she turned around she saw what she had hoped to never see in her life.

Naruto was on the ground bleeding heavily, he had at least 15 Kunai stuck in his body. She couldn't breath, the guy she's had a huge crush on since she first saw him was dying right in front of her.

"H-Hinata… please…. Help me….." he said with blood spiting out of his mouth. His head then dropped and he didn't move or breath.

She rushed over to him and felt for a pulse, but there was nothing….. he was dead.

"N-Naruto….. NARUTO!" She screamed and then she started crying like she had never cried before, tears drowning her entire face. She had failed to protect something that was very precious to her, and she had never felt so horrible in her entire life.

Kurenai then stepped out from her hiding spot in the tree feeling very bad, she had taken it a little to far this time, she hadn't known she would break down this bad though. She then snapped her fingers and the genjutsu faded and Naruto's dead body poofed out of existence.

Hinata stopped weeping when this happened "W-What… What just h-happened?" she said with a weak and very shaky voice.

"I'm sorry Hinata; I didn't mean to take it that far, I didn't know you would cry like that, I truly am sorry." Kurenai said very sincerely.

Hinata didn't even get to respond before Kurenai had chopped at her neck, knocking her out.

'She must really like the boy, maybe even love him' she thought to herself before picking them both up and taking them both back to where they had started and tied them up against a tree. Akamaru had shown up as well, but she quickly had tied the dog up as well, without a master the dog isn't really much of a fighter.

When Hinata awoke, she found herself tied to a log a long with Kiba and Akamaru at where they had started by the lake.

She then remembered what at happened, and suddenly felt sad. 'How could my own sensei do that to me?' she thought to herself.

"I really am sorry Hinata, but it was for your own good" Kurenai said, as she appeared in front of Hinata.

"For my own good?! I thought Naruto was dead! How could you do that to me?!" Hinata asked angrily.

"I didn't know you would break down like that, but listen to me Hinata it really was for your own good." She then stopped and took a deep breath and continued, "Listen, out there in the ninja world they don't care who's precious to you, who you're friends are, or who you're family is. They will kill them with no hesitation if given the chance. That's why I had to show you that, out there you probably will see one of your close friends taken away one day."

Hinata was silent trying to take everything in her sensei had said, when she looked up at she saw her sensei with a look of sadness she thought she'd never see on her.

"My old teammates are all dead, they were killed right in front of my eyes, and I couldn't do anything to stop it, we were all such good friends….. I felt like killing myself after that. I didn't want to live, but then I also knew they wouldn't want me to die myself just because they died, they'd want me to continue on, to get stronger, and to avenge them. Which is what I did when I got stronger, I killed them, the people that killed my friends." She looked down, and then continued, "Revenge is bittersweet though, you think you'll feel better after you get it, but really it just leaves you feeling bitter." She said with a sad voice.

"That's why I had to show you that Hinata, I want you to be strong if that ever happens to your teammates, and know they wouldn't want you to end your life, just because theirs ended. I hope you understand." Kurenai said.

Hinata now understood, "I understand now sensei and I'm sorry that has happened to you, I accept your apology." She then smiled at her sensei and she smiled back.

"I'm glad" Kurenai said still smiling.

Just at that moment Kiba decided to wake up from his slumber.

"Uhhhhhhhh….. My stomach hurts…... What the Hell! Why am I tied to a log!?"

Both women laughed at his confusion.

"I tied you there silly, after I knocked you out" Kurenai said.

"Well gee thanks, I see you got my dog and Hinata to… but where is Naruto?" Kiba asked.

"To be honest I have no idea, I guess he gave up." Kurenai said with a smirk.

"HA! You think I'd ever give up! You must not really know who I am sensei." Naruto said standing on top of a tree near them, "I am Naruto Uzumaki, and I never give up! That is my nindo! My ninja way! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto said dramatically.

All of them seemed to sweat drop at his really corny speech, even Akamaru.

"You know as dramatic as your little speech was, you know you can't beat me right? It's 9:55, you only have 5 minutes left before it's all over, and you all will have to wait even longer to do missions" Kurenai said with her evil grin returning.

"You underestimate me sensei, I'll show you why you shouldn't ever underestimate Naruto Uzumaki!" He said grinning.

"Yeah Naruto! Show her what you're made of!" Kiba said cheering his teammate on.

"You can do it Naruto!" Hinata said cheering him on as well.

Kurenai chuckled, "Well seems you have some fans Naruto, but it won't help you, it's now 9:58, you have no chance now."

"Ha, 2 minutes is all I need! Now you better get ready cause here I come!" Naruto said as he jumped down and attacked.

He was just as slow as last time, so she easily dodged his attack. When she kicked him though he turned into a poof, it confused Kurenai at first, but then she realized what it was.

"Impossible! A shadow clone? That's a very high level jutsu!" Kurenai said in disbelief.

"Yup that's right! And you feel for it!" Naruto said as he threw his kunai knives at her as hard as he could from up in a tree.

She barely dodged them, but it was enough to ruin his plans.

"That was a good one, but you'll need more than that to hit me."

"I know" was all he said.

Suddenly a Naruto had emerged out of the lake and was heading straight towards Kurenai.

'What?! He was hiding in the water the whole time!' She thought to herself.

The punch came an inch from her face, but she was able to stop it, this one was the real Naruto to.

"That was very clever, but not clever enough, Naruto, but a very good effort though." Kurenai said smirking.

"I told you not to underestimate me" he said with a confident grin.

Suddenly one of the kunai that he had thrown at her before suddenly poofed and turned into a shadow clone of Naruto, and was coming right at her.

She tried to turn to block, but Naruto grabbed her hand and kept her from moving, she was about to try to kick Naruto off to get free, but it was too late.

The punch connected right into her face and sent her straight into the ground. Then with a poof all his shadow clones disappeared, and Naruto looked like he was on top of the world right now.

"YESSSSS! I did it I won! Now we get to do missions! BELIEVE IT!" Naruto said as loud as he could.

"Damn, that was nice Naruto! Good job man!" Kiba said smiling.

"Yes, that was awesome Naruto!" Hinata said smiling at him; she knew he could do it.

"Haha, thanks guys." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head and smiling.

Kurenai then got up off the ground and smiled at him, "I must say I'm very impressed to" Kurenai said with sincerity, "You're battle smarts are definitely great, and you definitely caught me off guard with your shadow clones, I'm very impressed that you not only can perform such a high level jutsu, but can execute it perfectly as well." Kurenai said smiling.

"Thank you sensei." Naruto said smiling back at her.

"Just in time to, you only had 5 seconds left when you struck me"

"Guess I'm just a dramatic guy huh?" Naruto said chuckling.

"I suppose so Naruto." Kurenai said chuckling as well.

"Okay, if you guys are done with your little chat about how good Naruto is CAN YOU PLEASE GET US DOWN FROM HERE! MY STOMACH REALLY HURTS!" Kiba said frustrated.

This made everyone burst out laughing, besides Kiba of course.

"Hey it's not funny!" he said pouting.

"Alright, alright, let's get them down from there Naruto."

"Awww, can we leave Kiba up there at least?" Naruto said grinning.

"You know what, sure why not?" Kurenai said with an evil smirk

"Alright!" Naruto said with an evil smirk as well.

"WHAT! YOU GUYS BETTER NOT!" Kiba said threateningly.

"Or you'll do what?" Naruto said laughing as he cut Hinata down and Kurenai cut Akamaru down.

Then they all started walking back home, laughing the whole time.

"THIS ISN"T FUNNY GUYS! GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!" Kiba said infuriated.

They just kept on walking though, laughing even harder now.

"NARUTO WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU I'M GONNA KILL YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

**Author's Notes**

**Haha, Great way to end a chapter! I was even laughing the whole time I was typing it, poor Kiba…. man I'm evil :P**

**In response to my two reviewers.**

**RedEye00: My first review ever! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter of my story, and hope you enjoyed this one to! And I actually thought that that was how you spelled it lol, I went back and fixed it so no need to change the rating :P**

**Fher34: Yeah, Naruto has always been pretty clueless about girls, especially when it came to Hinata, let's hope he can figure things out eventually in the story.**

**I hope to have Chapter 3 out Monday, so watch out for that.**

**Please Read and Review, your opinions on my story mean a lot to me and help me to become a better writer.**

**Until next time, peace out.**

**- Riley**


	3. Chapter 3: Pride

**Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own Naruto.**

**"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" means time skip.**

**Now, on to the story.**

**Chapter 3: Pride**

Naruto awoke the next morning very early, not really intentionally though. His sensei had told them all to wake up 4:30 the next morning and be at training area 13 at 5:00 a.m. for their first true training session. Though last night's 'training' actually did get Naruto pretty tired, when he got home his muscles were all torn and sore, and he was very tired. As usual when he awoke the next morning he felt 100%, he had always wondered why he could get hurt and recover so much faster then others before, but now he knew it probably had to do with the nine-tailed fox inside him. A grin was instantly put to his face as he remembered last night's events.

He was able to land a punch on his sensei after fooling her, which he was very proud of. Everyone else was to, which made Naruto feel great. He laughed as he remembered leaving Kiba tied to the log, and him screaming out to them threateningly, which made all of them laugh hysterically. They eventually did go back after about 2 minutes, to untie him. As soon as they got him down Kiba was on Naruto like white on rice, but Naruto was able to keep one step ahead of him though, so he never got to catch him until their sensei broke them up. After that their sensei told them they needed to be down here to train again a 5 a.m. and to go home and get some sleep. No one argued with her and they all went home, knowing they needed to go to sleep now, or they would be really tired in the morning.

Naruto had set his alarm clock for 4:30, but he ended up waking up at 3:45. Deciding he'd just got out and walk until it was time to head that way, he quickly got up, took a shower, put on his clothes, ate some instant ramen, brushed his teeth and left at 4 a.m.

He walked down the quiet streets of Konoha; he enjoyed walking down the streets when no one else was really up yet. There was no one to glare at him and stare at him with hatred that he didn't understand. Sure, he had a demon inside of him, but that didn't make him one, why couldn't they understand that?

He then made his way into a forest, and started making his way to his training grounds when he suddenly saw a boy in a weird green jumpsuit. He had the thickest pair of eyebrows Naruto had ever seen, and big rounded black eyes, He looked like a total weirdo.

Lee felt someone staring at him, so he turned around and saw a kid in a weird orange jumpsuit with blonde hair and whisker marks on the sides of his face. He noticed his hitai-ate on his forehead and instantly smiled.

'So he's a ninja to! Maybe he will fight me; I need a good challenge to test my skills.' Lee thought to himself still smiling.

He then walked up to Naruto and looked right at him in his eyes smiling, "Hello there! My name is Rock Lee, and I'm the strongest ninja in the hidden leaf village! What is your name?"

Naruto stared at him for a few seconds, and then he started laughing, much to Lee's annoyance.

"Why are you laughing?!" Lee said with an angry face.

"You? The strongest ninja in the hidden leaf village? Don't make me laugh even more. Everyone knows that I, Naruto Uzumaki, is the strongest ninja in the village." Naruto said smirking at Lee.

Lee looked at him annoyed, "Oh really? If you are so sure of yourself, then prove it."

"What do you have in mind bushy brow?" Naruto asked.

"Fight me, right here, right now, and prove that you are the best." Lee said in a serious tone.

"Ha, fine, if you want a fight then you got one bushy brow." Naruto said confidently.

They both took their stances, and looked very serious. Both staring at each other with angry looks.

"You know you can't win right? You don't stand a chance against me!" Naruto said arrogantly.

"You underestimate me and my abilities, didn't your sensei ever tell you to never underestimate your opponent? I will crush you for it." Rock Lee said.

Naruto was about to answer back, but Lee was already gone from his position. Naruto looked around, but couldn't find him anywhere. Then suddenly a kick connected with Naruto's jaw that sent him flying.

When Naruto got up he saw Lee looking at him with a serious face.

'He's so fast' Naruto thought to himself, wiping the blood from his jaw, 'I couldn't keep up with his movements at all! He's almost as fast as Kurenai sensei!' Naruto thought to himself.

"I usually don't fight with my weights off, but I didn't really feel like putting them on, so you should be honored to be the first to fight me at my full power ever." Lee said to Naruto.

'Weights? He wears weights? That must be how he got so fast' Naruto thought to himself. As soon as he thought this though, he felt another kick hit his jaw, then Lee continued to pummel on Naruto so fast that Naruto didn't even have a chance to block or counter.

Lee finally let up and Naruto picked himself up off the ground, in a bruised heap. He still couldn't believe how fast he was, by the looks of it, he was around Naruto's age, and still a genin, yet he was almost as fast as Kurenai sensei, which was saying a lot.

"Ready to give up yet? Or do you want another beating?" Lee said coldly.

Naruto just smirked at him, "I never give up Lee, that is my nindo, my ninja way!"

Lee smiled back at him, "Your determination is admirable, and even pumps me up. The power of youth is strong in you"

"Gee, thanks, but now it's your turn to feel a beating!" Naruto said confidently.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled, the forest was then filled with at least 100 shadow clones of Naruto, all staring at Lee.

Lee looked stunned at first, but he quickly regained his composure and started smiling again, "Shadow Clones huh? That is quite a technique." He said still smiling, "But it won't be enough to beat me" Lee said confidently.

"Ha! We'll see about that!" then all his clones attacked Lee.

'There's no way he can get past all of them' Naruto thought to himself

Lee was able to kick about ten of them away, until one of them finally got a hold of him from behind. Then they all tackled him in a massive dog pile.

"I got you now!" Naruto said proudly as his clone continued to pile on him. "There's no way you can get out of this!" Naruto yelled.

"Leaf Hurricane!" was all Naruto heard when suddenly all his clones that were on top of Lee were sent spinning and poofed out of existence. Naruto was shocked when all the smoke had cleared. Lee was standing there unscathed and staring confidently at Naruto. He had just taken out all of his clones with just one move! This guy was the real deal.

"That was a good move, but like I said, it wouldn't be enough" Lee said grinning, " My leaf Hurricane move was perfect for that kind of attack you sent at me, your clones didn't stand a chance."

Naruto just glared at him, he was mad, but he knew he was right. He didn't stand a chance against this guy, he had just taken out his best move like it was nothing.

Then suddenly an older looking version of Lee appeared out of bush nearby with a mad look on his face.

"Lee! What are you doing!? You know you should never ever train without your weights on! The older looking Rock Lee said.

Lee looked at him with a very regretful face, "I'm sorry Guy sensei! My opponent challenged me when I didn't have them on though."

"No buts Lee! You know better than that!" Guy sensei said with cold look.

"I-I'm sorry Guy Sensei!" Lee said, and then started crying.

Guy then appeared in front of the boy and hugged him, "Its ok Lee, we all make mistakes, it's how we correct them in the future that really makes us true ninja" He said with pride as he looked into his pupils eyes.

"Guy Sensei!" Lee yelled.

"Lee!"

"Guy Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy Sensei!"

"Lee!"

Naruto sweat dropped, they continued hugging and yelling at each other for what seemed like forever. Naruto felt like he could throw up, instead of staying there and listening to them, he decided he'd just go ahead and leave them there by themselves.

'They looked like they needed some alone time anyway' Naruto thought.

He then realized that he needed to get to training area 13, and fast! He wasn't sure how long his fight with Lee had lasted, but it felt like a pretty good while. He ran as fast as he could, hoping he wasn't late, there's no telling what his sensei would do if he was late, she's very unpredictable.

Naruto gulped at the thought, and kept running as fast as he could.

When he got there Kiba and Hinata were already there waiting, he was sweating and panting pretty bad.

"Whoa, Naruto! Did you run the whole way here? Kiba said confused.

" W-what t-time i-is it? Am I l-late?" Naruto asked as he caught his breath.

"Chill dude, its only 4:50" Kiba said.

"What!? Really?" Naruto said shocked.

"Yeah man, you should really start carrying a watch." Kiba said laughing at him.

"Damn, I could have walked all the way here then and still made it then!" Naruto said as he finally raised his head up and looked at his teammates.

"N-Naruto, What happened to you?" Hinata asked concerned.

"Huh?" Naruto said confused.

"Yeah man, you look like you got beat up pretty good judging by those two black eyes and cuts on your face." Kiba said concerned as well.

Then Naruto remembered, he had completely forgotten about his fight with Lee. He was in such a rush to get here he had completely forgotten all about it and the beating he had took.

"W-Who did this to you Naruto?" Hinata asked still very concerned.

Naruto looked down, he wanted to tell her, but he just couldn't; it was hurting his pride just too even think he had lost so badly. He certainly couldn't tell anyone else about it.

"I…..I'd rather not talk about it." He said looking down with a sad face.

Hinata wanted him to tell her, but she just couldn't ask him, whatever had happened had affected him deeply by the way he had acted after he said it. She just couldn't bring herself to pry into his life if he didn't want her to, but she hoped he would tell her eventually.

"I understand man, you don't have to tell us, but if you want to, just know you can always talk to us about it." Kiba said with a smile and Akamaru barked in compliance.

"Yes, we are always here for you Naruto." Hinata said smiling as well.

"Thanks guys….. You guys are really good friends" Naruto said smiling looking up now.

Just then Kurenai sensei showed up, happy to see all her genin students had made it on time today, she knew Hinata would make it on time, but she wasn't so sure about Kiba and Naruto, they had a bad track record of being late when they went to the academy. She was glad she was proven wrong though as they were here and looked ready to go.

"I'm glad you all could make it on time today, today is very important, as I learn exactly how strong you guys truly are" Kurenai said firmly.

Then she looked at Naruto, and saw he looked pretty beaten up already, she wanted to ask him what had happened, but decided she'd ask him later. She knew he was pretty prideful just from what she had seen already, and didn't think he'd want to talk about it in front of the others.

"So what are we going to be doing?" Kiba asked.

Kurenai looked at him and smirked, "You will be fighting each other."

"You mean….. Sparring?" Hinata said shocked, she didn't want to fight Kiba, and definitely not Naruto.

"Yes, that is the best way for me to see what you guys are truly made of, going against another of your age to see who is the best always bring the best out of people your age" She said smiling, "and it will teach you your teammates strengths and weaknesses, which can be useful to know when you are out on a mission in a life or death situation."

"This sounds like fun" Naruto said grinning.

"Yeah it will be fun to beat you into the ground" Kiba said smirking at Naruto.

"Ha! You actually think you can beat me? You must have hit your head on the way over here!" Naruto said glaring at Kiba.

"Alright, alright, you guys can go first since you both seem so eager to fight each other. Just a simple Taijutsu fight though, no ninjutsu or genjutsu got it?" Kurenai said.

They both nodded their heads.

"Alright then let's do this" Kiba said still smirking.

"Hinata, while they are fighting I want you to study them carefully, everything you can find out about your teammates strength and weaknesses will help in the long run." Kurenai said.

"Yes sensei" Hinata said as she sat down to watch the fight.

"Alright guys, ready?" Kurenai asked.

"Yup" Kiba said.

"I'm always ready! Believe it!" Naruto said confidently.

"Alright then, begin!" Kurenai said firmly as she steeped back out of the way.

Both boys then charged at each other and started throwing punches and kicks as fast as they could.

Hinata noticed they were both about on the same level when it came to speed, strength, and agility. They both were dodging and blocking every punch and kick that was coming their way. It didn't seem like it'd ever end, until Naruto finally took advantage when Kiba let his guard down for just a moment, and swept his feet from under him and nailed him right in the face with a roundhouse kick.

Kiba sled back a few feet, but quickly got onto his feet.

"Ha! I told you I'd win." Naruto said his ego boasting as he stuck out his chest.

Kiba just laughed, "You think because you got one hit in you've won? You're dumber then you look, I've just been toying with you." Kiba said smirking.

Naruto didn't believe it though, "Prove it then!"

"Alright fine, I will."

Kiba then got into his clan's famous four legs taijutsu technique, and speed towards Naruto with more speed then he had before, in this stance he was faster and stronger.

As soon as he reached Naruto, Naruto tried blocking, but he was just to fast. Kiba kept attacking with such speed and ferociousness that Naruto didn't stand a chance. He tried his hardest to block, but every time he tried he just ended up getting hit harder. When it looked like Naruto was about done for, Kurenai stepped in.

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Kurenai said firmly as Kiba stopped his attacks and got out of his stance.

"Sensei! Why'd you stop the match! I could have beaten him!" Naruto said furiously.

"I had to, without your ninjutsu there's no way you could have beaten him Naruto." Kurenai said.

"Yeah Naruto, don't sweat it man, my clan is famous for its four legs taijutsu technique." Kiba said.

Naruto glared at him and stared at him coldly, which made Kiba cringe a little, "Yeah….. Whatever…" Naruto said as he walked under a tree nearby and sat down looking very sad and frustrated.

Kurenai was concerned when he did this because it wasn't like him to act so frustrated, but Kurenai decided not to ask questions, not yet anyway.

Hinata felt really bad for Naruto, she had never seen with such a look of sadness and despair before. I almost made her want to cry when she looked at him, she had never in her life wanted to find him like this. The boy that never gave up, never gave in, and always believed in himself, yet he looked so defeated sitting against that tree, like he had just lost everything. It broke Hinata's heart, but she knew right now was not the right time to cry. She was a Hyuga, they were never suppose to let strong emotions show, and especially not cry, so she held it in.

After what seemed like forever, especially to Hinata, Kurenai finally spoke, "Alright then, Kiba, you and Hinata spar next. Naruto pay close attention to their match like Hinata did."

Naruto just simply nodded with the same expression on his face.

Hinata knew what she needed to do, she needed to give it her all and try to beat Kiba, and if she did she thought maybe that would make Naruto feel better. Kiba was tough, but Hinata with her bykugan was a close combat genius, she knew she had to give it her all.

Naruto looked at them as they both got into their positions; Kiba looked the same as he did before when he fought against him, but Hinata had a look in her eyes Naruto had never seen before. She looked confident, and determined, something she had never shown before, it definitely seemed to suite her.

"Ready?" Kurenai asked.

They both nodded their heads, focused on their opponent.

"Begin!" Kurenai said as she stepped away from them.

Hinata wasn't wasting any time; "Bykugan!" she yelled as suddenly her pupils became more distinct and veins near her temples bulged out. She was then attacking Kiba madly, he was barely able to dodge her attacks at first, but then she hit one of his chakra points and it caused his whole arm to go stiff as he jumped back. She wasn't putting as much chakra into her attacks as she would in a life or death battle of course, but she knew it still hurt like hell though when she hit him, as she could see it on his face. She then continued to bash him, hitting his chakra points every now and then, and her moves were so fast and fluid that Kiba didn't stand a chance once his arm had got hit.

Naruto was awed by Hinata; he had never seen her like this. She was quickly taking Kiba out, with determination in her eyes he had never seen. Her moves were just so fluid; it was sorta like watching a ballerina.

"Alright, stop!" Kurenai said stopping the match. Hinata had beaten Kiba to a pulp.

"Gosh Hinata… you're a lot better than I thought." Kiba said astonished and breathing hard, "I can hardly feel anything right now my muscles are so numb."

"Yes, you really impressed me Hinata, after what happened yesterday, I didn't think you would perform so well, but you proved me wrong." Kurenai said smiling.

Hinata was shocked; she had never been praised before like this. Her father had always seen her as a failure, never encouraging her, her whole clan saw her as failure to, even her younger sister and her cousin Neji thought of her as a failure. To hear someone say she was good at something and encouraging her was almost too good to be true.

"Thank you sensei." She said with a big smile.

Naruto was very impressed by what Hinata had done, and it made him happy, but at the same time it hurt his pride as well. Hinata had defeated Kiba like he was nothing, and Kiba had just destroyed Naruto a few minutes ago like he was nothing, then this morning Rock Lee had beaten him to a pulp as well. He felt like he was hopeless, just last night when he had landed a hit on Kurenai sensei he felt like he was on top of the world and no one could beat him. He thought he would be hokage in no time, but Naruto had been grounded back to reality today though as he finally realized what all of this meant….. He was nothing…

Hinata had expected to look back and see Naruto happy that she had just won, but what she saw terrified her. He was crying, it was only one tear drop though as he quickly wiped it away, but it was something Hinata had never wanted to see in her whole life. It was heartbreaking to see him crying, something was definitely wrong with him, ever since he had shown up this morning he had been acting different. She had to know what was wrong with him, she didn't care if she was prying into his life, she had to be there for him whether he wanted her to be or not, she just couldn't stand seeing him like this.

But as soon as she was about to go up to him and ask him, Kurenai decided to speak up.

"Ok then, Naruto and Hinata it's your turn to fight, Kiba I want you closely watching this fight as well." Kurenai said.

"Yes, sensei." Was all Kiba said as he sat down.

Hinata felt her heart drop, right now the least thing she wanted to do was fight Naruto. Especially with him feeling the way he was.

Naruto just got up and into position trying to hold in his emotions in, he knew he couldn't beat her, but he was still gonna try his best. That was his ninja way, he was gonna give it everything he got.

Hinata's confidence was completely gone Naruto noticed as she to got into position. She looked even more nervous then usual, like she couldn't hardly move.

"Alright are you ready?" Kurenai asked.

Naruto nodded his head; Hinata did to, but very hesitantly.

"Begin!" Kurenai yelled as she stepped away from them.

Naruto then charged toward her, but Hinata was paralyzed, and couldn't move, Naruto then landed a hit in the stomach that made Hinata come out of her paralyzed state, but she still wouldn't move, not even to block.

Naruto kept hitting her, at first he thought he had been able to catch her off guard somehow, and was proud of himself for a moment, but then he realized that he actually hadn't. She just wasn't trying and it made him furious.

He then stopped his attacks and looked directly at Hinata, "Why aren't you fighting back Hinata!?" he said with a mad look on his face.

Hinata was shocked; she didn't have any idea what to say. "I-I just want you to win Naruto." was what finally came out, but as soon as she said it she realized how stupid that was as he instantly looked at her with anger in his eyes.

"What?! Do you think I'm just some weakling Hinata! I don't need your pity!" He said with anger that was making Hinata scared, she had just greatly angered someone she cared about deeply.

"I-I I'm sorry N-Naruto…." she said in a very scared voice.

"Then fight me Hinata!" Naruto yelled at her at the top of his lungs.

What he saw next though scared him. Hinata feel to her knees and started crying, crying so hard that she was shaking. Naruto felt like killing himself right there, he had just made one of his few friends cry, one of the few people that didn't see him as a demon, but as a person, as Naruto Uzumaki. He felt like running away, everything in his body told him to run, but he knew he couldn't, he couldn't do that to his friend. So he did the only thing he could think of.

He hugged her.

As he did this, Hinata stopped shaking, and after about a minute she had finally stopped crying. She couldn't believe it, she thought he hated her, but now here he was hugging her, trying to comfort her, when just a minute ago she thought he could kill her.

"Hinata… I'm really sorry" Naruto said with sorrow.

"F-For what Naruto?" she asked shocked.

"For making you cry, Hinata… you are my friend, and I never want my friends to cry, especially from something I caused" Naruto then looked into her eyes, "especially you" he said smiling at her.

This instantly made her blush and turn a dark crimson; Naruto cared about her, and saw her as something special in his life. Just a few seconds ago she had been scared and felt as sad as he had ever felt in her life, but now she felt as happy as she ever had in her life.

Naruto looked at her with worry though, as she froze with her mouth open and her face turned really red.

"Umm Hinata, you're looking really red there, I think you might have a fever, let me check." He said as he leaned in closer and touched her head.

His touch instantly made Hinata come out of her trance as she looked at Naruto she almost screamed. He was inches away from her face and from kissing her, and was touching her head.

This made Hinata panic at the sight of him being so close to her. She yelled at the top of her lungs.

This made Naruto back up a little, "Hinata! Are you o-" Naruto wasn't able to finish his sentence though, as she slung her back as she panicked, and head butted him accidentally which sent him flying into a tree knocking him out and even herself out as well.

Kiba looked disappointed, "Awwww man, I thought they were about to kiss there for a second before she freaked out and knocked him out." Kiba said chuckling. "I guess they really do like each other like you said sensei, I'm glad you told me not interrupt them after Naruto hugged her" Kiba said laughing.

"Ha, yeah I told you Kiba, Hinata certainly likes Naruto anyway, and I'm pretty sure Naruto does to, but he's to clueless to know that though, I knew she'd be fine after he hugged her." Kurenai said smiling glad she was right.

"You think we should tell him?" Kiba asked.

"Nah, let him figure it out on his own, I don't think he would believe us even if we did tell him anyway" Kurenai said.

"Yeah, you're probably right" Kiba said still laughing, "Well….. What should we do now?" he asked.

"Well training is certainly canceled now… Could you take Hinata home please? I need to talk to Naruto alone about what happened this morning." Kurenai said.

Kiba nodded, "Yeah, he didn't seem like himself today; I even thought I saw him crying for a second…. I hope you can help him sensei." Kiba said with concern as he picked Hinata up and took her off to her home.

'I hope she wakes up before I get there' he thought to himself. 'I'd hate to see how her father would react to me bringing her home unconscious' he shuddered at the thought.

'I hope I can to.' Kurenai thought as she picked Naruto up, and placed him against a tree.

She had been sitting waiting for him to wake up for about 20 minutes when he finally awoke from his nap.

"Uhhh…." Naruto said rubbing his forehead, "Where am I?" He asked confused.

Kurenai just chuckled at him, "You're still at the training grounds Naruto."

"Oh….. oh yeah, now I remember. Is….. is she ok?" Naruto asked.

"You know, that's a funny question to be asking considering she was the one that head butted you." Kurenai said grinning, "But yes, she is fine."

"That's good" Naruto said smiling a little.

"Naruto, I have to ask you…. About this morning… what happened to you to cause such bruises?" she asked concerned.

Naruto just stood there thinking things over, then looked up at her with a serious face, "I have to tell you don't I?"

Kurenai sighed, "You don't have to tell me anything Naruto, but I do think it would help you if you did."

Naruto took a deep breath, "Ok….. I'll tell you" he then took another deep breath and continued. "I had woken up early this morning, so I decided to take a walk through town while no one was up yet. When I reached the forest there was this strange kid around my age training. He was a ninja to, and wore some kind of weird green jumpsuit and had the bushiest brows I had ever seen. He then noticed me and told me his name was Rock Lee and challenged me to a fight. I thought he was a complete joke and totally underestimated him though. He was way out of my league though, he crushed me, he was so fast and strong, I tried my best but it didn't matter. It didn't really bother me until I got here to the training grounds though. I realized that I was nothing to him, I was weak, and then when Kiba beat me to a pulp it just made it worse."

Naruto looked down in sorrow, "How can I ever be hokage when I'm so weak sensei! I didn't stand a chance against him, just a random leaf village genin ninja I had never met before took me down like I was nothing! How can I become hokage when I can't even beat him?"

Kurenai took a deep breath trying to process everything he had said. Naruto's pride had been crushed today; he thought he was invincible until today, which is why it hurt him so badly.

"Look Naruto, I know how you feel; when I was a young genin I thought I was invincible to, like nothing could stop me…" she looked down in sadness. "But I learned that wasn't true when my teammates were taken from me in front of me. You have to learn that just because you've been defeated does not mean you can't get back up."

She then looked at him firmly in his eyes with a serious face, "If you truly want to your dream to become true Naruto, then you have to except this, no one ever became hokage without going through hard times, without ever losing. In some ways losing is good for us; it teaches us our mistakes and what we need to improve on. No one ever became hokage with just pure skill alone, they also had to train, train harder then everyone else. Naruto I truly believe that you can and will become hokage one day, but to accomplish this your going to have to bust your ass everyday, and train harder then anyone else. You got it?"

Naruto looked at her, and saw the sincerity in her eyes, she actually believed he could become hokage one day, and it filled Naruto with joy, "So, what do I need to improve on then sensei?" he asked.

"Well from what I've seen and what you told me about your fight with Lee, I'd say you really need to improve on your taijutsu" Kurenai said.

"Well then I'm willing to do whatever it takes sensei! I'll train 24/7 if I have to, to accomplish my dream of becoming hokage!" Naruto said with a passion she hadn't seen from since yesterday.

Kurenai smiled, "I'm glad you're back to your old self, now I think I have an idea of why Lee was so fast, it sounds to me like he is one of Guy sensei's students. Guy uses weight training to increase his speed; he is even a bit faster then me. It sounds like his weight training has rubbed off on his student Lee and he has been training with them to, which is why he was so fast."

"So…. You think I should train with weights then?" Naruto asked.

"Thats exactly what I think Naruto, your combat form is actually fairly developed for a genin, but your speed puts you at a major disadvantage against faster opponents. Not only that, but wearing weights would also make you stronger which would just be another added bonus." Kurenai said smiling.

"Where can we get weights though?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Are you really that clueless?" Kurenai said smirking at him, "At a ninja shop in Konoha of course, they sell many types of weights, come on I'll take you there right now." Kurenai said walking and signaling him to follow.

"Umm sensei, I don't think that's such a good idea, the villagers don't really like it when I go into their shops." Naruto said nervously.

"Oh come on Naruto, it can't be that bad, besides, if they try anything I'll just scare them away, I don't know if you noticed because of how nice I am, but I can be pretty intimidating when I want to be." Kurenai said smirking.

Naruto huffed, "Yeah, and pretty evil." He said under his breath.

"What'd you say!?" Kurenai asked angrily.

"Nothing!" Naruto squeaked.

Kurenai smiled, "That's what I thought." as they continued to walk towards Konoha.

When they finally reached Konoha, Kurenai was disgusted by what she saw. All the villagers were staring and glaring at her and Naruto with hatred in their eyes. They all looked like they were about to snap on Naruto any second. It filled Kurenai heart with not only sadness, but anger as she saw that this was what Naruto had to deal with everyday of his life. Some even cursed under their breaths at the sight of him, she instantly glared at these people with as much hatred in her eyes as possible which made them all quiver in fear.

"I can't believe they treat you like this Naruto, it…it just isn't right." She said with a sad voice.

"Yeah, well I'm use to it, it still makes me mad of course, but after a while you just stop caring and just ignore them." Naruto said so matter of factly, it actually made her sad.

'Yeah, well you might stand for it, I won't. I won't let them stare at my student with hatred like this. I'm going to have a talk with the hokage about this.' Kurenai thought. 'It's a miracle he's so lighthearted, they don't know how lucky they are, if it wasn't for him the nine-tailed fox would still be free, yet instead of praising him for it they hate him for it. It just isn't right'

Eventually they had made it to the ninja shop, the shopkeeper glared at them with hatred just like the other villagers, but when Kurenai returned it right back, he stopped.

"Well here's the weight section" she said to her student as he was curiously looking at all of it.

"Wow there's so many different kinds of weights." He eyed them all amazed.

Kurenai smiled at him, "Yup, but I think these will do best" Kurenai said, as she pulled out some special looking weights for the ankles and wrists, and handed them to Naruto.

Naruto looked at them with a puzzled face, "Umm sensei, these look cool and all, but they aren't really heavy at all." Naruto said confused.

"That's because they're not suppose to be" Kurenai said grinning at him, "These are very special weights; it is controlled by your chakra, so you can increase it to any weight you want. They also have a quick release hatch button that could come in handy if you need to get rid of the weights fast."

"Wow! That's so cool!" Naruto said amazed, but then frowned, "But it sounds very expensive, how can you afford to buy me something like this?" Naruto asked curiously.

She just chuckled at him "Ha! You think I'm poor or something Naruto? I've done a lot of missions in my life time I'll have you know, and made quite a bit of cash from it. Besides, Jonin get half off at this store anyway so it won't cost too much."

"Are….. are you sure sensei? I mean…. You really don-"

"I want to Naruto" She said smiling at him.

Naruto just smiled back. At that moment he was really glad Kurenai was his sensei, she actually cared about him and his dream of becoming hokage, and actually believed he could do it. He couldn't have a better sensei he thought to himself as they walked to the front of the shop.

As Kurenai put the weights on the counter the shopkeeper glared at Naruto with hatred, and then looked back at her.

"Your not actually buying that for him are you?!" He said in a mad voice.

Kurenai looked back at him with anger in her red eyes, "Why yes! Is that a problem!" she yelled.

"Yes! That demon in not aloud to buy anything in my shop! And I don't care if you're buying it for him! I will not sell this to you!" He said arrogantly, not really knowing who he was dealing with.

"He is not a demon you stupid old man! Now sell this to me, or I'll be forced to not only take it, but report you to the hokage as well" Kurenai said threateningly.

The old man growled, but knew he was defeated; the hokage was the only reason the boy was still alive today, and would not want his whole business to be shut down by him because he wouldn't sell something to the demon.

"Fine, just give the money." He said coldly.

"Fine, But if I ever hear you call my student a demon again just know I will reach down in your throat and rip your heart right out of your chest, do you understand?" Kurenai said in such a calm voice it scared the man more than anything in his entire life.

"O-o-ok." he said scared shitless.

Kurenai gave him one last cold stare before she slammed the money down on the counter and took the weights as she headed out the door with Naruto.

Kurenai looked furious, "I can't believe they can treat you like that! That is just completely unacceptable! I really just wanna go back there and fulfill my promise to him so bad!" she yelled.

"Sensei….." Naruto said lowly.

"Yes Naruto?" Kurenai said with concern as to how low he had talked.

"Thank you…. For sticking up for me… no one has ever done that before…I'm really glad you are my sensei." Naruto said smiling at her.

Kurenai looked at him puzzled for a moment, but then smiled back at him with pride, "You're welcome Naruto, and I'm glad you are my student."

At this they both smiled at each other as they continued to walk in a calming peace.

"So, where are we heading next sensei?" Naruto finally said after about a minute.

"Well we might as well go try out your new weights, come on follow me." She said before taking off, Naruto followed right behind her, they made it to their destination in no time.

"This spot looks good, ok Naruto, go ahead and try on your weights." Kurenai said.

Naruto did as told and put them on his wrists and ankles underneath his orange shirt and pants.

"Alright now try to put as much chakra into them, until you can't move very well."

Naruto did as told again, and put as much chakra as he could. When he had finished the weights weighed about 20 pounds.

"Good, now I want you to just practice punches and kicks with that much weight on, I want you to continue until you have mastered that weight."

"Alright sensei, I'll try" Naruto said as he tried moving as fast as he could, he stumbled at first, but eventually he was getting the hang of it.

"That's good Naruto, just keep it up and you'll have it in no time." Kurenai said, as she sat down and watched him train.

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Kurenai was shocked when after just 2 hours Naruto had already mastered this much weight, and was moving at his normal speed with it on. She knew his Jinchuuriki blood allowed him to heal at faster rates, but she know knew it also allowed him to train and make faster physical gains than a normal human.

"I'm really impressed Naruto." She said looking at him happily. "You just mastered that weight in 2 hours, when I thought it would have taken you much longer. You really do have a lot of potential." She said proud of her student.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and smiled, "Thanks sensei!" he said proudly.

"Well, it's getting late and I need to get home; we will start out training again tomorrow at 5 a.m. I'll see you tomorrow Naruto." Kurenai said.

"Alright sensei! Thanks again, and goodbye!" Naruto said happily.

"Goodbye" Kurenai said smiling, and then absorbed into the ground as she usually did and disappeared.

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Naruto could hardly move when he got home he was so sore, he had decided to stay and train by himself for another 2 hours after his sensei had left. He really wanted to make her proud, and he had to become stronger. He knew if he ever wanted to beat Lee, and especially Sasuke one day, he would have to train his ass off. He couldn't just go about acting like a kid anymore; he was a ninja now, and if he ever wanted to become hokage he'd have to train harder then Lee or Sasuke, or anyone else. He would accomplish his dream, nothing could stop him!

Naruto then hit his bed and feel asleep instantly, ready for whatever challenges came his way in the future.

**Author's Notes**

**I hope you all enjoyed chapter 3, I had to go back and erase about half of it twice, because it just didn't turn out how I wanted it. I think I finally got it right this time, as I think it goes along well with my other chapters and what I'm trying to portray in this story. I hope you guys liked it.**

**In response to my three reviewers.**

**Thunder Claw03: I'm glad you enjoyed my last chapter and hope you enjoyed this one to, I plan on doing something similar to what you suggested in the future, not sure when, but probably pretty soon, thanks for the review and input :)**

**ZyiareHellsing: I'm glad you liked it, Hinata really is shy and sweet, but when she gets mad she goes crazy lol.**

**YoumakemeSmile: I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far, and hope you enjoyed this update to.**

**Please read and review, like I've said before, your opinions mean a lot to me and any ideas on the story definitely help, and will certainly be considered.**

**Until next time, peace out.**

**- Riley**


	4. Chapter 4: First Mission

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Naruto, but I do own some Naruto action figures from when I was younger :P**

**"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" means time skip/character point of view change.**

**Now, on to the story.**

**Chapter 4: First Mission**

Naruto awoke from a deep sleep with a grin on his face. The past week had gone by so fast, and he had made a lot of progress on his skills, especially his speed. Sensei would have them spar with each other from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday, with only a lunch break in between. By the time they got done, they could hardly walk, but Naruto didn't stop there though. Even though he was really tired, he still continued to train even more, usually from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. until he went home and called it a day. He never took his weights off, so he usually would take beatings from Kiba and Hinata because of it, but he knew if he was get stronger though, he would have to keep them on at all times.

He wasn't the only ones making progress though. Hinata and Kiba both had become stronger in just a weeks time to. Kiba had made a new jutsu with Akamaru, or at least he says he did because wouldn't tell or show anyone the jutsu. Hinata had also become even better, a lot better. Naruto was mesmerized when he first saw her battle Kiba, but now she was twice as good now, which scared Naruto to even think about. She could easily take Kiba or Naruto down anytime she wanted to in a straight up taijutsu fight. Naruto wasn't even sure if he could beat her with his weights off, she just looked really determined, like she had something to prove to someone, which Naruto admired. She hadn't gone easy on him ever since their altercation to, which made Naruto happy, he wanted her to try her best in everything, even if it was kicking his butt. Kurenai sensei had also shown them a cool new water jutsu called Water Blast Jutsu, it was sorta like Sasuke's signature Fire Ball Jutsu, but in water form of course. It took a while for Naruto and the others to master, but by the end of the week they had it down pat.

All this wasn't the reason Naruto was grinning right now though. Today, he would be doing his first mission as a ninja! Naruto was so excited he could hardly sleep; he couldn't wait to see what they would be doing. Kurenai told them to meet her outside the hokage's tower at 8 a.m. for the mission, and Naruto wasn't wasting anytime as he scarfed down his food, put on his trademark orange clothes, and headed for the tower.

When he got there Kiba and Hinata were there before him as usual, but Kurenai sensei was no where to be found. Which was weird because she was usually the first one there during the week.

"H-Hi, Naruto." Hinata said a little shyly, she had started to get better around Naruto with her shyness, but it certainly wasn't gone completely.

"Hi Hinata" Naruto said smiling, "Where's our sensei at? I thought she'd want to be here early for our mission" Naruto said a little frustrated.

"No idea man, I thought she would be to, I'm sure she has a good reason though, she never shows up late." Kiba said, to which they all agreed.

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Kurenai had been walking on her way to the hokage's tower when she started thinking proudly of how all of her students had improved. Kiba was getting even faster and stronger in just a week's time, and had also said he created a new powerful jutsu with his dog Akamaru. Hinata was getting much more fluid with her jyuuken, Kurenai was worried about her at the beginning because of Hinata's lack of confidence, but after the first day training, she had a fire in her eyes that she hadn't seen before, she looked determined, like she had something to prove to someone, which has helped her a lot.

Who she's really amazed by is Naruto though, he hadn't stopped his weight training one bit, and although he would always lose to Kiba and Hinata when he sparred because of his weights, he didn't let it bother him. He truly knew what it was going to take to become a great ninja, which is rare to find in such a young boy. She knew that by the end of the week he had gone from 20 pounds on his wrists and ankles, to 55 pounds, which was crazy. He was making tremendous progress, he still probably wasn't near Lee's speed yet, but she was sure he certainly wouldn't be beat to a pulp like he was last time if they fought right now.

She was almost to the tower, when the least person she wanted to see right now showed up, the annoying Might Guy himself.

"Hello Kurenai." He said his trademark sparkling smile.

"What do you want Guy?" Kurenai said in an annoyed voice.

"Well, I just heard you were actually considering entering your students in the chunin exams in 2 weeks, Is this true?" he asked curiously.

"Maybe, maybe not, what's it to you anyway?" she said, still with an annoyed voice.

He just chuckled, "Kurenai, no need to get so worked up, I just wanted to let you know that probably isn't such a good idea." He said smirking.

"Oh yeah? And why not? You scared my team will beat your team's ass?" Kurenai said pissed off now.

Guy just continued to laugh much to Kurenai's annoyance, but finally cleared his voice and answered, "Look Kurenai, I know you believe in your team a lot, but they don't stand a chance, the competition is going to be fierce this year. A rookie team like yours doesn't stand a chance, especially if they have to go up against my team, and my star pupil Lee." Guy then looked at Kurenai's now furious eyes and smirked, "Not to mention I actually saw Lee kick one of your student's butts pretty good just about a week ago, they don't stand a chance." Guy said proudly.

Kurenai thought she could explode on him, but decided to keep her cool and just play along, "Are you done yet? Cause I couldn't hear a word you were saying from all the shit coming out of it." Kurenai said smiling as she saw his face turn red from anger. "Naruto may have lost to Lee before, but he's been training super hard and has made tremendous gains. In just one week of training, I think he already has a chance to beat your Lee."

"Ha! Do you really think that? Don't make me laugh. Do you think Lee has just been sitting around doing nothing after winning against Naruto? No, he's been training even harder; he's a lot stronger than even when your boy fought him. Lee could never lose to him." Guy said smiling.

"Well I guess we will see in the chunin exams who is better then, because I've made up my mind now, I'm going to be entering all three of my students. See you there Guy." Kurenai said as walked past him.

"Fine!" Guy yelled, "But it's just a waste of time! They don't stand a chance!" he yelled as he walked away angrily.

'Ugh, who does that guy think he is? I knew he was annoying before, but now he's on a whole new level of annoying.' Kurenai thought, 'Well that little talk with Guy took a little longer than I thought, my students will probably be mad, oh well I deserve to be late every now and then anyway, it's not like the other sensei's don't do it, especially Kakashi. That man will be late for his own funeral.' She thought grinning as she made her way closer to the tower.

When she got there her team was there waiting of course, and instantly Naruto and Kiba started sending her glares, Hinata just stood there.

"Your twenty minutes late sensei, what happened?" Naruto asked a little mad.

"Yeah, you know I hate waiting." Kiba said a little mad as well.

"Yeah, sorry about that guys, let's just say I ran into an old friend on the way here." She said smirking. "Come on; let's not keep the Hokage waiting any longer."

Naruto and Kiba both gave her a weird stare, but they followed her and so did Hinata.

When they opened the door the Hokage looked hard at work on his desk, writing very fast.

"Ah, Team 8, nice to see you all." He said smiling.

"Nice to see you to old man!" Naruto said smirking.

Kurenai then looked at him frowning, "Naruto! Don't ever address the hokage in such a manner again, you understand me? That's very disrespectful." She said scolding him.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry" He said pouting, which made Hinata giggle at him, and Kiba laugh.

Sarutobi just grinned, "It's quite alright Kurenai, I've sorta got use to him calling me that anyhow." He said smiling, "Anyway let's get on to business shall we?"

"Yes, we desire our first mission as a team lord hokage." Kurenai said proudly.

"Ah, your first mission huh? I bet you guys must be excited then."

"You bet! I've been dreaming of doing a mission as a ninja since I was a kid, now it's coming true! Believe it!" Naruto said which made the whole group laugh a little.

"Dang dude, you really need a new catchphrase that one is getting so lame." Kiba said laughing.

"Awww come on Kiba, it's a great catchphrase and you know it! You like it right Hinata?" he asked.

Hinata turned a little red, "Well, umm, y-yes I think it's a great catchphrase Naruto." She said poking her fingers together as usual.

"Oh come on Hinata! Your only saying you like it because you li-" Kurenai quickly put her hand over his mouth knowing what he was gonna say, knowing it would embarrass Hinata a lot, plus she was tired of there chit chatter and was ready to get their mission already.

"Alright that's enough talking you guys, let's just get our mission" she said as she let go of Kiba's mouth.

The Hokage just laughed at them, 'They sure are a funny group, but they definitely seem to get a long better than the other rookie squads.' Hokage thought, as he remembered Team 7 could hardly stop fighting the whole time they were in his office to get their mission.

"Alright then, here is your mission, a D rank." He said as he handed a note to Kurenai.

"A D rank? What does that mean?" Naruto said confused.

Sarutobi just chuckled at him, "It's a rank for the level of difficulty of the mission Naruto, there are D, C, B, and A rank missions, A being the hardest. Genin of your level are only allowed to take part in D and sometimes C missions."

"Well what's our mission then sensei?" Naruto asked curiously.

"We have to find a cat that's been lost for a few days." Kurenai said smirking at her pupil.

Naruto sweat dropped and then looked at the hokage angrily, "That's not a mission!" He yelled, "I want a real mission old man! I want to do something dangerous! Not find a stinkin old cat!"

"Yeah, Naruto's right, I hate cats!" Kiba said as Akamaru barked in compliance.

"Well we don't always get to do what we want!" Kurenai said, "I had to do the same kind of missions when I was a genin to ok, so no complaining!" Kurenai said threateningly.

Sarutobi just laughed at the group, but then remembered something, he wasn't sure if he should send them….. But Naruto and Kiba did say they wanted a real mission, and with two jonin there it shouldn't be too dangerous. He hoped so anyway.

"Alright tell you what guys; I'll give you a real mission." Hokage said with a smile. "A B ranked mission."

Kurenai looked at him shocked, but did not say anything, not wanting to question his authority. Kiba and Naruto both looked really happy, and Hinata was happy as well, but not near as happy as her other two teammates though.

"Alright!" Naruto yelled, "What's the mission!?"

Sarutobi chuckled at Naruto's eagerness, "You will be going to backup another leaf village team, the mission had initially been a C ranked mission, but some threats have arrived which has made it a B ranked mission. I asked if they wanted to return, but they declined and said they wanted to finish the mission, they didn't want me to, but I told them I'd be sending backup their way to help."

"Wow sounds cool." Kiba said.

"Yeah, who's the team we are going to back up though?"

Sarutobi grinned, "Team 7."

Naruto sat there silently along with his teammates trying to process what he just said, then it hit Naruto what it meant.

"What!?" Naruto said madly, "You mean I have to work together with Sasuke on a mission! No way!" Naruto said crossing his arms and turning his back to him.

"Well I thought you wanted a tough mission Naruto, I guess I could just give the mission to someone else then, and let you do your D ranked mission….."

Naruto instantly turned around, "No way!" Naruto said growling, "I might not wanna work with Sasuke, but now that I think about it, it might actually be kind of fun." Naruto said looking up at the Hokage.

"Now I can show him how strong I've gotten and finally wope his ass!" Naruto said confidently.

Everyone but Kurenai laughed at his remark.

"Naruto, I know you don't like Sasuke at all, but if we're going to be accepting this mission please try your best not to fight with him ok?" Kurenai said seriously.

"What? Why not sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Because this is serious business Naruto, you and everyone else could die out there, and fighting with your teammates will not help the situation at all. You can't let a simple rivalry compromise a mission, do you understand?"

Naruto understandingly nodded, "I'll try my best sensei, but I can't guarantee anything, if he tries anything on me I won't be backing down, that's for sure."

Kurenai just sighed, "I guess that's good enough, Hokage-Sama we accept this mission." She said proudly, which put a smile on all three members of Team 8.

Sarutobi smiled, "I'm glad, take this scroll to Kakashi, he will be looking for this one to make sure you aren't imposters, I wish you luck on your journey."

"Thanks Sarutobi." She said smiling back, "Alright guys, let's go." Then they all headed out.

Sarutobi sighed as they left, 'I hope this wasn't a mistake, if something happens to one of them I'll never forgive myself….. I just have to believe in them.' Sarutobi thought, as he picked up his pen again and started back on his paperwork.

When they got out of the tower Kurenai turned around to face them, "Alright guys, this could be a long journey so I want you all to go home and get packed, try bringing as many weapons as you can, some clean clothes, and some snacks if you want. We will all meet at this spot again in one hour got it?"

They all nodded.

"Alright then, see you in an hour!" she said as she absorbed into the ground and disappeared.

"I really wish she would teach us how to do that already!" Naruto said pouting.

"Yeah, it sure looks like it beats walking." Kiba said annoyed as well, "Well I gotta go get ready; I'll see you guys in one hour, bye." Kiba said before taking off.

"Bye" Naruto and Hinata both said before leaving as well.

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One hour passed by quick, Naruto packed as many weapons as he could into his bag, he decided he'd go ahead and disguise one of his shuriken as a shadow clone, just incase. He also had enough room to fit 2 lunch boxes into his box; he was a pretty good hunter though, so he wasn't too worried about food, but packed them in anyway.

He had arrived in front of the hokage tower like sensei told them to 5 minutes early. As usual though, Kiba and Hinata were already there.

"Sheesh guys, you always have to be here before I am huh?" Naruto said joking around.

"Yeah, I guess so." Kiba said smirking.

"So what'd you guys bring? I got a ton of weapons and I even had room for 2 lunch boxes!" Naruto said.

"About the same as you I guess, I brought some food pills though." Kiba said.

"Food pills? What's that?" Naruto asked.

"They're special pills that increase your chakra, and are good to use if you're going to be battling a lot. They work good with me and Akamaru's special techniques. Only downside is they wear you out pretty good after they wear off. I can give you guys some if you want."

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll need any." Naruto said.

"Alrighty, suite yourself." Kiba said.

"So Hinata, what'd you bring?" Naruto asked.

"J-Just some weapons, and I also brought some ramen." she said.

This made Naruto bright up, "Alright! Good going Hinata, I knew you'd bring the good stuff!" he said smiling.

Hinata blushed at his exclamation.

Kurenai then decided to pop out of the ground right in font of them, which made them all jump back a little.

"Can you please stop doing that all the time!" Naruto said panting a little from being scared.

"Sorry about that." Kurenai said chuckling a little, "Anyway, are you guys ready to go?"

They all nodded.

"Alright then, let's head off to our first mission." Kurenai said as the others followed her with eagerness.

They reached the gate out of Konoha, and quickly got through and kept walking.

Naruto was getting goose bumps from excitement, he had never really been out of the village before, and so when he went through the gate it just sorta hit him all of a sudden. He was actually on a mission as a ninja! He had dreamed of this moment ever since he was a little boy, and now it had become a reality.

Things were quiet between the four of them for a while, until Kiba finally spoke up.

"It's gonna be weird seeing team 7 again, it's only been a little over a week since we last saw them, but it seems like so much longer."

"Yeah, it definitely feels like it, especially when we were use to seeing each other almost everyday." Naruto said.

"I don't really feel like seeing them though, especially Sasuke, Shikamaru was alright, but he could really be a uh, how should I put this… a drag." Naruto said smirking.

Hinata and Kiba both laughed.

"Haha, you got that right man." Kiba said still laughing.

"Yeah, well even though I don't really feel like seeing them, at least I'll get to see Sakura again." Naruto said smiling.

Hinata felt her heart drop a little. Hinata knew he had always had a big crush on Sakura all through out the academy, and it always made Hinata really jealous and insecure, which is one of the reasons she never had enough courage to ever try to talk to him at the academy. Naruto hasn't said a word about Sakura though ever since they had become teammates; so she had hoped that that meant he had gotten over her, but apparently he hadn't.

"Ew, don't tell you actually like that pink haired girl?" Kiba said with a slight disgusted look on his face.

"What do you mean!?" Naruto said raising his voice a little.

Kiba just huffed, "I just thought you had better taste in girls, that's all." Kiba said a little matter of factly. Hinata couldn't help but agree with him in her head.

"What! I don't have bad taste in girls! Sakura is one of the prettiest girls that I've ever seen!" Naruto said angrily.

"Well I don't see what's so special about her, besides, she always treated you like shit back at the academy, I don't see how you could like her after all the bad things she said to you." Kiba said in a serious tone.

Hinata and Kiba both expected Naruto to yell back in response, but instead he just looked at the ground with a sad face.

Naruto knew what Kiba had said was true, Sakura treated him like dirt, and as hard as he tried to be nice to her and compliment her she just put him down even more. All she cared about was Sasuke, who was a complete jerk to her, yet Naruto was always nice to her but she couldn't care less about him. Naruto knew he deserved better than that, he never really knew it until Kiba said something about it, but now he knew.

Kiba and Hinata were both starting to worry when he hadn't looked up for a while, but then he lifted his head up and he was smiling.

"You know what Kiba, I think you're actually right this time, I deserve someone better than that pink haired kunoichi." He said still grinning.

Naruto didn't know it, but this instantly made Hinata's heart rise back up just as quickly as it had fallen, and made her smile.

"Well, that's something I thought I'd never hear, you agreeing with me." Kiba said, and they both laughed a little.

"Yeah, and it's really funny considering that I got this advice from you." Naruto said laughing even harder.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Kiba said confused.

"Oh come on man, everyone knows you liked Ino just as much as I liked Sakura back in the academy." Naruto said grinning.

Kiba turned a little red, "What! How do you know about that!"

Naruto chuckled at him, "Dude, like I said, everyone knew, it's not like it was a secret. I just find it funny how you're giving me advice about Sakura, when Ino treated you almost as badly as Sakura treated me."

"That's not true! She didn't ever yell at me or call me bad stuff!" Kiba said angrily.

"Yeah, but she completely ignored you which is just as bad to be honest." Naruto said.

"Yeah, but that's just because she was to busy obsessing over Sasuke… Damn I hate that guy, just wanna punch him right in the jaw." Kiba said showing his dog-like teeth a little, and clinching his fists.

"You and me both man, maybe we'll get the chance to do it when we get there." Naruto said smirking.

"Yeah, but you heard what our sensei said about him before, we can't just attack him." Kiba said a little sad.

"Yeah, your right, but like I said before, if he tries to attack either of us first though we won't back down, and we'll have each other's backs." Naruto said smiling.

"Ha, you got that right man, we'll kick his ass if he tries anything at all!" Kiba said grinning, and then him and Naruto pounded fists.

Kurenai just shook her head, she'd been listening to them talk for the past few minutes deciding not to say anything. 'Boys will be boys' she thought as she and her team kept walking.

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They had been walking for about an hour, and were getting close to their destination, when suddenly something caught Kurenai's eye.

In the middle of the road there was a pool of water, Kurenai instantly knew what it meant. It hadn't rained in a good week, there was no other puddles around either, just one random puddle of water in the middle of the road, it could only mean one thing. Someone was following them.

Kurenai sensei looked back at her students, and saw they had noticed it to.

Kurenai nodded at them, "Be on guard." She whispered to them.

They nodded back; Kurenai looked at them with pride before turning around. For genin to notice something like that was quite amazing, especially considering they had only been genin for only a little over a week now, it really made her proud of them.

Kurenai quickly scanned over the forest looking for threats, at the same time she was thinking and very confused.

'Why would they even be following us? How do they even know we were sent as backup for Team 7?' Kurenai thought. 'It just didn't add up, a ninja wouldn't just follow them for no reason, especially since they were in a group, they obviously knew why they were here, but how?'

While Kurenai was thinking things over, Naruto was whispering to his teammates.

"Hey guys." Naruto whispered. "You all know the plan right? If someone does attack us that is?" Naruto asked.

Kiba nodded his head fast, Hinata did to, but with reluctancy, which Naruto noticed.

"Hinata, what's wrong?" Naruto asked concerned.

Hinata was shocked he had noticed, "Umm….. i-it's just that…. I don't know if I can do it. I-I don't wanna let you guys down." She said biting her lip a little.

Naruto looked at her confused, "Hinata, I know you can do it, you may not believe it, but you're the strongest one here Hinata. I know you can do it, I believe in you." He said sincerely and smiling.

This made Hinata blush a little, whenever Naruto told her he believed in her, it filled her up with confidence, something she had little of. Naruto really knew how to make her feel better, and made her believe things she otherwise couldn't on her own. No one had ever told her she was strong, or believed in her, everyone from her clan saw her as a failure, but Naruto didn't. He really did think she was strong, and really did believe in her, and she was gonna do her best to make his words true.

She looked up at him smiling and nodded confidently, Naruto smiled back at her.

"Alright then, let's do it." Naruto said confidently.

"Bykugan." Hinata whispered as she activated her clan's famous kekkei genkai, she quickly observed her surroundings, as soon as she did she saw some kind of ninjutsu barrier up ahead that Kurenai sensei was about to walk through.

"Sensei! Stop!" she yelled, but it was too late.

Kurenai jumped back a little at her scream and turned around, "What's wrong Hinata!?" she asked.

Then suddenly a menacing looking man in a black cape and long black hair jumped down from a tree.

"Ha, I didn't think you would fall for my barrier jutsu so easily Kurenai, I thought you were smarter than that." he said in an evil voice.

Kurenai then realized it, she had walken straight into a barrier jutsu, she had been so caught up in thought she had gotten careless, she had examined the trees so thoroughly see forgot to even check for traps in front of her. Now her students had to fight off this man by themselves. She prayed nothing would happen to them.

"Who are you, and what do you want with us!?" Naruto yelled at the man furiously.

He just chuckled, "Why, you have a short temper, if you really must know I'm one of the demon brothers, Meizu. That's all you need to know before I kill you." He said with an evil smile, which made Hinata backup a little in fear.

"If you think you scare us then you're wrong! I don't care who you think you are its still three against one, you don't stand a chance!" Naruto yelled confidently.

Meizu just smirked, "Ha, you think you three little brats stand a chance against me? I'm a high level chunin and your just a bunch of little leaf village genin who just became ninjas just a week ago. I'll destroy you." He said with a very menacing look on his face.

Kiba and Naruto both looked confident, but Hinata was almost trembling with fear.

'How can they look so confident?' Hinata thought, 'I wish I could be that confident….. but I have to be strong….….. I can't let my teammates down now, not when they need me!' Hinata thought, but it didn't help her fear.

Kurenai then looked at her students with worry, "Naruto, Kiba, Hinata, you all have to run! This man is not joking around, he will kill you!" Kurenai yelled.

"Well I'm not joking around either sensei! I didn't become a ninja just so I could run away! He's the one that should be running!" Naruto said confidently.

"Ha, I'd listen to your sensei if I was you, but now after that remark your fate is sealed, I think I'll start with you first." Meizu said evilly.

"Bring it on weirdo!" Naruto said as he reached in his bag and threw his kunais at him.

Meizu dodged them all easily however.

"No! Naruto! Get out of there!" Kurenai yelled behind the barrier.

"Stupid boy! You should have listened to your sensei! Now you die!" Meizu said as he pulled his hand out from behind his cloak, revealing a metal gauntlet with a claw on his hand. It quickly shot out as a metal chain, with the claw heading straight toward Naruto.

"Naruto, Dodge!" Kurenai yelled, but he didn't move, and the metal claw went straight through his chest.

"Naruto!" Kurenai screamed.

"Ha! Stupid boy, that's what you get for trying to act tough, now your friends will share the same fate." Meizu said with an evil grin as he retracted his claw back into his metal gauntlet.

Much to his surprise, they all just looked up at him with a smirk; even Naruto who he thought should be on the ground dead by now.

"You're dumber than you look; now we'll show you why you shouldn't mess with Team 8!" Naruto yelled, and then suddenly poofed out of existence.

Meizu's eyes went big in shock, "A Shadow Clone?! But that's impossible!" He yelled in shock, and then suddenly he heard a poof behind him.

When he turned around it was already too late, Naruto had hit him in the face sending him flying back towards Kiba.

"Alright Kiba!" Naruto yelled, "You know what to do!"

"Right!" Kiba yelled.

"Human Beast Combination: Two headed dog!" Kiba yelled as suddenly Kiba and Akamaru became one, and turned into a vicious white dog with two heads.

They then ran straight at Meizu as he was caught off guard by Naruto's punch, and bite both of his legs as hard as they could, effectively holding him down so he couldn't move.

Meizu screamed in agony as the two headed dog clamped onto his legs, making big gashing marks and causing him to bleed badly. He tried to kneel down and try to punch them off, but as soon as he tried Naruto grabbed onto his arms, holding them back with all his might.

"Alright Hinata, it's time! Finish him off!" Naruto yelled.

Hinata heard him, but the problem was, Hinata couldn't move, she was too scared, her legs had gone completely numb, and she was in shock. She wanted so badly to move towards this man and finish him off and make her teammates proud, especially Naruto, but she just couldn't. Naruto was wrong, she was too much of a failure; she would just mess up she thought to herself, she just couldn't do it.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled, "We can't hold him for much longer!" Naruto said struggling to keep Meizu in place.

She didn't move though, she seemed frozen in place; she didn't even look up at him. Naruto saw this and knew what had happened, and what he had to do.

"When I get my hands on you I'm going to kill you, you little brat!" Meizu screamed as he struggled to get free from Kiba and Naruto.

"Hinata!" Naruto screamed, "Look at me, please!" he said begging.

Somehow Naruto's plea had gotten Hinata out of her trance to look up at him. Even though he was struggling to keep Meizu in place, he still smiled at her when she looked up at him.

"Hinata, you can do this! I believe in you! We all do!" Naruto said, and Kiba barked in compliance through his gripe on Meizu's leg.

Hinata finally felt it, she could move again, Naruto believed in her, they all did, and they needed her help. She had to do something; she had to make them proud. The only people in the world that believed in her, she couldn't let them die, not because of her. She had to be strong just like they thought she was, she wouldn't let them down, not today, and not ever again.

"Bykugan!" she yelled as she reactivated her family's famous ability. She then sped at Meizu with as much confidence and concentration as she ever had in her entire life.

She saw Meizu's chakra points as clearly as she ever had her whole life, and attacked him as quickly and fluidly as ever, she wasn't holding back at all this time, and every time she closed another one of his chakra points, he bleed a little from his mouth.

As she closed his 32nd chakra point, she stepped back to perform her final devastating blows.

"Eight Trigrams: sixty-four palms!" she yelled as she stepped forward and with even more speed and concentration than before, and closed the rest of his chakra points. Meizu feel to the ground, still conscious, but unable to move at all.

Hinata couldn't believe it, she had actually done it, she beat Meizu and performed one of her clan's greatest techniques as perfectly as you could, she actually felt proud of herself.

Naruto looked at her with the biggest grin she had ever seen from him, "Way to go Hinata! I knew you could do it! That was awesome!" He said, jumping up in the air in celebration.

"Yeah Hinata! That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Kiba said, Akamaru barked in compliance.

Hinata turned really red from all the compliments, "T-Thanks guys!" She said smiling.

"I must say I'm really proud of you to Hinata, all of you for that matter." Kurenai said stepping towards them now that the barrier was gone, "But you guys really did scare me, what were you guys thinking going against a chunin like that?" Kurenai asked a little angry.

"Awww come on sensei, we had a plan from the start anyway incase something like this happened, besides it all worked out in the end perfectly." Naruto said smiling.

"I suppose, but please, don't scare me like that again, I really thought you were dead Naruto!" she said madly.

"Sorry about that sensei, but that was all a part of the plan, I made a shadow clone, and disguised myself as one of the kunai after I saw the puddle. It was the only way I could get a good sneak attack on him." He said apologetically.

"It's alright, I'm glad you had a good plan at least, I thought you were just being cocky for a second there." She said smiling, which they all returned.

"Well let's tie this bastard up and see if we can get some answers out of him" Kurenai said, as she picked him up and tied him against a tree. Meizu couldn't move, but he was still conscious and could speak.

"I have some questions for you." Kurenai said in a cold voice.

Meizu just looked at her, "And what if I don't answer them?" he said weakly.

"Then I guess I'll just have to kill you."

"Ha, I'm already dead, but I'll answer your questions, I don't care about this mission anymore."

"What? What is your mission?" Kurenai asked.

He smiled at her, "Is it not obvious? I guess I'll start at the beginning." He breathed a deep breath and then continued, "You see I work for Zabuza Momochi, the demon of the hidden mist, we were hired by a man named Gato to kill the bridge builder that your friends were protecting, me and my brother were ordered to go kill him by Zabuza. My brother and I thought it would be easy, but we were wrong, they captured my brother, but I was able to escape. When I returned Zabuza took it in his own hands to kill him them, and told me to keep watch on anybody coming down this road, incase they had sent for backup, and to kill them. That's why I attacked you. That's all I really know." He said.

"That's pretty informative, but why would he want you to be protecting this road?" Kurenai asked.

He just smiled an evil smile, "Because he's fighting Kakashi and his little genin right now down this road, they are probably all dead by now."

He was expecting her to panick, but she just smiled back at him, "I doubt that, Kakashi can handle himself" she said with confidence. "Come on guys let's go, I'll leave him here for the police to get him." She said as they started to walk away.

Meizu was shocked, "Wait! How can you be so sure Kakashi is alright?" he asked confused.

Kurenai just turned around and smiled, "Because Kakashi is probably the strongest jonin of the hidden leaf village as much as I hate to admit it, and because I know his moves would work great against Zabuza, he doesn't stand a chance." Kurenai smirked as she and her students walked away from a stunned Meizu.

"Do you really think that sensei?" Naruto asked hoping she was right.

"I really do Naruto, Kakashi's sharingan would work wonders against Zabuza, I have no doubts he could beat him." Kurenai said confidently.

"Wow, he really sounds tough, could he beat you sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Well I didn't say that." Kurenai said smirking, "It would definitely be a good battle."

They then walked in silence as they made their way closer to where they were suppose to meet Team 7.

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Sasuke was about to break down from frustration. This whole mission has been a disaster.

First off, Sasuke could not stand his teammates, they were complete idiots.

Sakura was a weak kunoichi who would not stop obsessing over him constantly and trying to ask him out on a date, he'd tried being nice at first, knowing he'd be stuck with her as a teammate, but after a couple of days he finally got tired of it, and was trying to be his meanest to her to get her to go away, but it didn't seem to stop her at all from liking him.

Then there was Shikamaru, he was actually pretty strong and talented, but he absolutely didn't care about anything! He just wanted to sit around and look at the clouds all the time. Every time he wanted to have a spar with him, he'd just look at him and say 'Nah, sparring is a drag.' Or 'No, that's too troublesome.' Sasuke swears if he heard him say those two things ever again he was going to go crazy.

He thought things would get better once they had got this mission, but things have just been worse.

First, two weird demon brothers attacked them, Sasuke didn't know why, but he couldn't feel his legs he was so scared when they attacked. Kakashi easily was able to fend off the other brother, but the other headed straight towards Sasuke. Sasuke was too scared to move though and braced himself for the attack, but then Shikamaru stepped right in front of him like a hero, and did his shadow possession jutsu. Which instantly caught the demon brother, as Shikamaru he made him dance, the other brother fled as soon as he saw this, and they tied up the other brother for the police to get. Worst of all Shikamaru called him a scaredy cat, at the sight of him trembling with fear.

That really pissed Sasuke off, but when he tried to challenge him to a fight he just told him 'No, fighting is a drag.' And walked off to sit under a tree. This just made him madder, and when Sakura tried to 'cheer' him up he almost screamed, but held it in as he walked away.

Worst of all though, they learned they had backup coming because the mission had been moved up to a 'B' rank. Sasuke really didn't want anyone coming to help them, it made him feel weak.

And then some guy named Zabuza showed up, he was even more powerful than the demon brothers. Sasuke watched helplessly as Kakashi made quick work of him though. Kakashi was so strong, yet he was so weak, how was he suppose to ever beat his brother when someone like Zabuza could scare him shitless? He was getting really frustrated.

Things couldn't be worse for Sasuke as he walked with his team guarding the bridge builder. When suddenly, it did.

Smoke filled the area and fireworks started going off, his teammates went into position to guard the bridge builder, but Sasuke knew who it was, but didn't wanna believe it.

'Please don't let it be him, anyone but him!' Sasuke thought pleading.

"Have no fear Team 7! The greatest Ninja of the hidden leaf village is here to save the day!" they heard from the smoke.

'Please….. Anyone but him!' Sasuke thought pleading even more.

"That's right! I'm sure you guys already know who I am, but I'll tell you anyway! It's the one, the only, Naruto Uzumaki! The future Hokage!" As the smoke cleared and Naruto appeared grinning with his teammates, all of them sweat dropping, and looking a little embarrassed from his words and his dramatics.

Sasuke fell to his knees, "Oh dear God…...THIS CAN NOT BE HAPPENING!" He yelled in frustration.

**Author's Notes**

**I hate to end it right there, but yeah, I did haha, poor Sasuke can't catch a break.**

**Kiba's Human Beast Combination: Two Headed Dog Jutsu is just like his one in the anime and manga, except it's in dog form, not wolf, and not nearly as big, about the size of a Labrador except with two heads of course.**

**I didn't get any reviews for chapter three which made me a little sad, but I got a good bit of follows, so thanks for that!**

**I hope to keep on updating every 2 or 3 days like I have been, but I'm just now starting out as a senior in high school now, so I might not be able to once we start getting some homework, and studying for tests, but if it does it'll only delay me a little, so no biggie. I hope to have Chapter 5 out Saturday, so watch out for that!**

**Please Read and Review! Your opinions mean a lot to me, and help motivate me as well.**

**Till next time, peace.**

**-Riley**


	5. Chapter 5: Problems

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto that belongs to the great Kishimoto.**

**"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" means time skip/character point of view change.**

**Now, on to the story.**

**Chapter 5: Problems**

***Flashback from last chapter…..***

Things couldn't get worse for Sasuke as he walked with his team guarding the bridge builder. When suddenly, it did…..

Smoke filled the area and fireworks started going off, his teammates went into position to guard the bridge builder, but Sasuke knew who it was, but he certainly didn't want to believe it.

'Please don't let it be him, anyone but him!' Sasuke thought pleading.

"Have no fear Team 7! The greatest Ninja of the hidden leaf village is here to save the day!" they heard from the smoke.

'Please….. Anyone but him!' Sasuke thought pleading even more.

"That's right! I'm sure you guys already know who I am, but I'll tell you anyway! It's the one, the only, Naruto Uzumaki! The future Hokage!" As the smoke cleared, and Naruto appeared grinning with his teammates, all of them sweat dropping, and looking a little embarrassed from his words and his dramatics.

Sasuke fell to his knees, "Oh dear God…THIS CAN NOT BE HAPPENING!" He yelled in frustration.

***End of Flashback.***

Kakashi and Sakura were both shocked by Sasuke's outburst; they had never seen him yell like that, Sakura was very concerned about him, but Shikamaru couldn't care less though of course. All of Team 8 just looked at him with weird eyes as he laid on his knees with his hands on his face in frustration, except for Naruto though, who looked at him angrily.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled angrily, mad at Sasuke's outburst, "You should be grateful we even came to save your sorry ass at all!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke then got up with a look of complete anger on his face, "Save our ass!? The only one who needs to be saved around here is you, from your own stupidity!" He yelled furiously.

Naruto could feel his blood boiling, but before he could say anything back, Kiba decided to join in.

"Yo Sasuke, chill man, I know you can't help it since your emo and all, but try to relax." Kiba said smirking.

Sasuke looked like he could explode, "What did you say dog breath!?"

"Alright, alright, break it up you guys." Kurenai said sighing.

"He started it!" Naruto yelled, "We're here to help him and his team on their mission, yet he's not appreciative of it one bit!"

"That's because we don't NEED your help, we were just doing just fine before you showed up!" Sasuke said annoyed.

Shikamaru then let out a big sigh, he had kept quiet for now, but he couldn't take it anymore, "You guys are such a drag, all I wanted was some peace and quiet and you guys just ruined it….how troublesome." he said annoyed.

Sasuke snapped, "OH MY GOD, IF YOU DON'T STOP SAYING THAT ALL THE FUCKING TIME AND BEING SO DAMN LAME AND DEPRESSING I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!" Sasuke said furiously, which made Sakura who was standing next to Shikamaru, step back a little in fear.

Shikamaru just looked at him as uncaring as ever though, "Damn, I guess it really is true your emo, either that or it's that time of the month again." he said as he lazily walked away.

Naruto and Kiba both fell to the ground laughing hysterically, even Hinata laughed, even though she tried to hold it in, Shikamaru really got him good.

"THAT'S IT! YOUR DEAD YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Sasuke said as he lunged at Shikamaru as fast as he could.

Shikamaru just slowly turned around, "Shadow possession Jutsu." He said lazily, as his shadow suddenly reached out and grabbed Sasuke, paralyzing him to the ground.

Shikamaru then using his special jutsu made Sasuke dance, and do funny poses. Which made Naruto and Kiba laugh even harder if that was even possible. Hinata couldn't hold it in any longer either, and hit the ground laughing almost as hard as they were.

Sakura then decided to speak up, and she was furious, "Shikamaru you dumbass! Put my Sasuke down right now!" She said as she clobbed Shikamaru right in the face, sending him straight into a tree, knocking him out.

Naruto and Kiba both had looks of fear on their face now instead of laughter, "Damn, she's really scary when she's mad." Kiba said gulping, Naruto nodded his head quickly

"Sasuke! Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Sakura asked in a concerned voice.

"No! Now get away from me!" he said in a harsh voice, and headed over by a tree far away to sit down.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled, as she headed after him.

Naruto and Kiba fist bumped each other as a sign of victory, and headed over to check on Shikamaru, who they actually liked now to make sure he was ok. Hinata followed a little happy as well.

Kurenai, Kakashi, and the bridge builder Tazuna all sighed, glad it was over.

"Well, I'm so glad that our backup just absolutely loves each other." Tazuna said sarcastically, "I think I need a nap after all that has happened today, I'll be over here by this tree resting if you guys need me." He said as he waved and left.

Kurenai smiled, "Well I'm glad that all worked out so well." Kurenai said sarcastically.

"Well, if your objective was to get one of my students knocked out, the other as furious as I've ever seen him, and the other emotionally upset, then I guess you accomplished your goal." Kakashi said jokingly.

Kurenai chuckled, "Here's the scroll from the Hokage to confirm it's us, and not imposters."

Kakashi just chuckled, "Don't really need to see it; I knew it was you guys from the very beginning with the whole smoke and firework thing. I knew it had to be Naruto."

"Yeah, sorry about that, he wouldn't take no for an answer." She said still chuckling. "So, what all has happened?" Kurenai asked curiously.

"It's a long story….." Kakashi said sighing, as he began to recall on all that had happened.

Kakashi then proceeded to tell her everything, about the demon brothers attacking them, the bridge builder telling them the truth about the assassins after him, and Zabuza attacking them, but him easily defeating him, and a Hunter-Nin from the village hidden in the mist suddenly appearing and finishing him off.

Kurenai then told him about the demon brother that attacked them, and that how she had fallen into a trap, but her genin team was able to take him down easily.

Kakashi raised his eyebrow a little, "It sounds like you got a really good team Kurenai, they took down a high level chunin and didn't suffer a single scratch. I'm a little disappointed in you though, I thought you were smarter than to fall into a simple trap like that." He said smirking a little, though you couldn't tell because of his trademark mask he wore.

"Yeah, I was to, I couldn't believe I feel for it. I'm sorta glad though that I did though, I got to see how much my students have progressed in such little time. It really makes me proud." She said smiling.

"Yeah, well I guess that makes one of us." He said sighing, "My team can't stop fighting, they were able to pass my exam, and showed great teamwork then, but now they show no signs of teamwork at all now. Which is why I'm glad your team is here." he said smiling.

Kurenai looked confused though, "And why is that?"

"Well, because I think my team needs some motivation to get them going in the right direction, and I think your team will provide them more than enough of that." He said smiling through his mask, "Especially Naruto."

Kurenai chuckled a little again, "Yes, it seems he will definitely provide motivation for Sasuke, they hate each other, I just hope they don't kill each other in the process."

"Yeah that's definitely a problem that I think we need to fix right now." He said in a serious tone.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well its simple really, just force them to make up." He said smirking through his mask.

Kurenai was confused, but before she could say anything, he was already yelling out to their teams.

"Alright everyone! Gather up in front of me and Kurenai, we have some things to discuss." He yelled out to everyone.

They all looked like they'd rather run away then stand next to each other right now, but they followed his orders. Luckily Shikamaru had finally woke up from his sleep, so he was able to join them as well.

As soon as they got there, Naruto and Kiba were sending angry glares right at Sasuke, which he was returning back with just as much anger. Hinata and Sakura just stood there trying to ignore the furious glares the boys were sending each other, and Shikamaru looked like he couldn't care less as usual.

Kakashi and Kurenai both sweat dropped and sighed a little at the boys, they looked like they could kill each other.

Kakashi decided to speak up before they did, "Alright, as you all know Team 8 is going to be joining us on our mission, from now on they are our teammates and I expect you to treat each other the same way you treat your other teammates, with respect." He said in a serious tone.

"Oh yeah right." Sasuke said in his usual voice, "There's no way I could ever respect those idiots." He said coldly, which made Naruto and Kiba explode.

Before they could say anything and start another fight, Kakashi spoke up, "Sasuke, if you want to be a part of this mission and this team, then you better. Otherwise I'll have to send you home without a team anymore." He said a little mad.

Sasuke's had a look of shock on his face, "What!? You would actually kick me off this team over those losers? I've never heard of such bullshit in my whole life!" he said furiously.

"Yeah Sensei! That isn't fair!" Sakura said mad to.

"Life isn't fair." He said coldly, "Sometimes you have to put up with people to get what you want Sasuke, and whether you like it or not they are here to stay and aren't going anywhere. So you can either stay or fight, or you can run back to the village like a failure. It's your choice." Kakashi said harshly.

Sasuke looked furious, but as much as he didn't want to work with Naruto and Kiba, he would have to put up with them. He wasn't a quitter, and would not let anyone stop him from reaching his goal, of redeeming his clan, and getting his revenge on his brother.

"Ok." Sasuke said, "I'll put up with them, but don't expect me to talk to them, or even acknowledge their presence." He said as he walked away.

"Geez, he really needs to get the stick out of his ass." Naruto said, which made Kiba snicker a little.

"Naruto, Kiba, this goes for you two." Kurenai said seriously.

"What? You're kidding sensei?" Naruto asked shocked.

"No, I'm not, from now on we are all teammates, and I expect you and Kiba both to treat everyone with respect just like you do each other, and if you don't I'll be sending you back as well without a team anymore, got it?"

Naruto and Kiba both pouted, but they eventually nodded their heads.

"We got it sensei, but like we've said before, if he starts anything with us we aren't going to put up with it." Naruto said.

Kurenai sighed, "I guess that's all I can ask for." Kurenai then looked at Kakashi, "So I guess it's time we get going then, where are we headed?" she asked.

"We are headed to the land of the waves to stay there, and protect the bridge builder until he finishes the bridge. It will take about a week, so we will be staying with his family until we are done." Kakashi said.

"Sounds good to me." Kurenai said.

"Let's get going then, no time to waste." Kakashi said as he waved for them to follow, he woke up Tazuna from his nap and then they were off.

The whole group was quiet the whole time. Naruto and Kiba were trying their best to ignore Sasuke and not even look at him, which Sasuke was also trying his best to do.

Sakura was to mad to even speak, she couldn't stand Kiba, and especially not Naruto. They both were so annoying, that she would get annoyed just from looking at them. Hinata was ok, even though she was a bit weird and very quiet. At least their sensei seemed kind of cool, and looked strong as well.

Shikamaru looked like he couldn't care lees from the outside, but on the inside he couldn't help but think how much he didn't want to be here, 'This is gonna be such a drag….' Was all he could think as they kept walking.

Hinata didn't really know how she felt. She was glad to be on her first mission as a ninja, but the other team didn't really seem that friendly or glad they were here at all, and Naruto and Kiba both really hated Sasuke. She also didn't really like being around Sakura, especially with Naruto around, it made her nervous because she knew he liked her. He had said earlier though that he didn't really want to be with someone as mean as her, which made her happy, but it still didn't mean that he didn't like her still. She just hoped things would all work out the way she hoped they would.

After about 2-3 hours, they finally arrived after taking a boat. From the outside, the land of the waves seemed like a beautiful place, and they had only heard good things about it from where they lived, but what they saw on the inside shocked them.

The streets were dirty, filled with trash. There were many homeless men and women roaming the streets and alleyways, begging for food and money. Many of the houses were very poor looking and a lot of them looked deserted. This was not at all what they had heard about the land of the waves. From what they had heard in Konoha, the land of the waves was a prosperous place, with lots of food, and very beautiful place to live. What they saw here though was the exact opposite, and it all made them a bit sad.

"This place…. It's not anything like I thought it would be…. This is awful." Hinata said in a very sad tone.

"Yeah… I had heard this place was a great place to live, yet everyone looks so poor and helpless…." Naruto said sad as well.

"It wasn't always like this." Tazuna said, "This did use to be a great place to live…but that all changed when Gato moved into the picture." he said looking down.

"Gato? Who is he?" Naruto asked.

"I've heard of him." Kurenai said, "He's one of the wealthiest men in the world."

"That's right, but he's also one of the most crooked and evil men as well. He'd kill his own family just to get his own way. He's the one that caused all of this." Tazuna said angrily.

"What? How?" Naruto asked confused.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tazuna said still angry, "He uses his wealth and power to hire bandits and mercenaries to do his bidding, with their help he took over our land. We tried to stand up to him, but he was just to powerful, and someone very close to me ended up dying trying to protect us…. and we all just gave up hope and lost the fight in us when he died, so he's ruled over us like a dictator ever since."

"I still don't understand though, why would that make the land so poor just because he has token over?" Naruto asked.

Tazuna sighed, "Because he took control of our land's shipping routes for his own gain, and prevented free import and export from our land, because of this we can't get the supplies we need for this land to thrive to come anymore. This is why most of us are so poor, and live horrible lives. My family and me are one of the lucky ones though, we have enough money to feed ourselves, and have a nice home. We try to help others as well, but there is just way too many. That is why we need this bridge."

"Why? What will a bridge do?" Naruto asked still confused.

"You know, your not very smart pipsqueak, but you are very curious and willing to learn and listen, and I admire that." Tazuna said smiling, "A bridge will allow easier access to outsiders to our village, so there won't be any need for ships to come in anymore, and that means they won't have to pay to bring things we need into our country anymore, which means we will start getting the resources that we need just like we did in the past. Which is why we absolutely have to have this bridge, without it our country will be poor forever, and Gato will always rule over us." Tazuna said clinching his fists.

Naruto looked down thinking things over, he really wanted to help this country, and he wanted them to not have to live a life of fear and sorrow, because of some evil man. He wanted them all to live like they did before, and there was only one way to do this, and that was for the bridge to be built and their mission be successful. He would rather die then to know he had failed to bring hope and happiness back to this village.

Naruto looked up at Tazuna and smiled, "Bridge builder, I give you my word that I'll protect you with all my might until you've finished building this bridge, and restore your country back to what it use to be, and I'll die before I ever go back on my word." Naruto said giving him a thumbs up.

Tazuna was shocked by what he said, the boy really meant what he said, he really was a brave young man, enough so that it rubbed off on everyone including himself, and filled everyone with confidence. The boy was so young, yet he had more courage than anyone in his whole land, it reminded him a lot of the brave man that died for this land not so long ago…..

Tazuna looked up and smiled at him and nodded, and Naruto nodded back. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

When they finally got to Tazuna's house, it was already dark, and everyone was starving. Naruto and the others could already smell the food emanating from the house, making them drool a little, especially Naruto.

When they entered they were meet by a beautiful young woman, and a little boy with a weird hat on.

"Hello father." She said happily, "I'm glad you made it back safe, I was starting to get worried, I see you brought a lot of friends. I'm glad I made a lot of food then." She said smiling.

"Ha, yeah it's a good thing you did; they all started drooling when they smelled your cooking." He said grinning, "Anyway, where is my manners, I'd like you guys to meet my daughter Tsunami, and my grandson Inari."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you all, it's good to know that you all are here to protect my father and the bridge, as you can tell, our village really needs this bridge built, so the more help we have the better." Tsunami said smiling, Inari just stood there emotionless though, and said nothing.

"It's nice to meet you to." They all said.

"So where's the food! I'm starving!" Naruto said grinning as his stomach growled.

"Naruto, you're a pig! You have no manners at all, all you ever think about is food!" Sakura said angrily.

Hinata could feel herself tense up a little bit, she hated it when someone yelled at Naruto and called him names like that, but she did her best to control her anger.

Naruto just smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "I'm sorry, no need to call me names though, I'm just hungry that's all."

Tsunami just chuckled at them, "It's quite alright, the food is ready anyway, and I know you all are starving, so let's go ahead and eat."

"Alright!" Naruto yelled as she led them to a large table that was able to fit them all.

Tsunami had made a feast; there was turkey, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and even Naruto's favorite, which sorta seemed out of place here though, ramen. They all ate away at it enjoying every bite, Hinata and Sakura tried to show some respect and manners by eating slowly, but Naruto and the rest didn't even try to slow down a bit. They even seemed like they were eating faster then usual, like they were competing to see who could eat the fastest or something.

When they got done there was little left of the feast as they all patted their bellies very satisfied.

"Man, I haven't ate like that in a long time, thanks Miss Tsunami." Naruto said.

"Yeah, that was some great food, even Akamaru liked it and he usually doesn't like human food." Kiba said, as Akamaru barked.

"You're all very welcome, you all need to be at your full strength to protect my father from harm anyway, it's the least I could do" she said smiling.

"Like it will even matter." Inari said, as he finally spoke his first words since they had gotten there, "They will all just end up dying just like everyone else. They aren't strong enough to stop Gato, no one is." He said coldly.

"What did you say little pipsqueak!" Naruto said angrily.

"You heard me, you guys can't stop Gato, no one can. He is just too strong, you guys don't stand a chance, you might as well go home and leave while you still can." Inari said as he got up and left the room.

"Inari!" Tsunami yelled, but he was already gone.

"What is his problem?" Naruto asked still a little mad.

Tsunami sighed, "I'm sorry about that, he didn't really mean it." She said with a sad look on her face.

"You must not blame him…." Tazuna said, speaking up. "You see, the man I told you about that died standing up to Gato was very close to Inari, and our whole family as well. He was like a father to him, so when he died he really took it hard. He lost all his confidence and courage, and now he is in a very deep depression….. That's also one of the reasons we have to build this bridge" Tazuna said looking up with a look of determination, "The only way to get my old grandson back to the way he use to be is to build this bridge and show him Gato is not invincible. I hope that will give him hope again, and bring him back to the happy boy that I miss… I really do hope…." He said with a look of sorrow on his face.

Everyone had a look of sadness on their face. They felt bad for Inari, and the whole village, but it also made them determined to see this mission through, and to get the bridge built.

Naruto looked at the bridge builder with a happy face, "Bridge Builder, like I told you before, I will protect you with my life, and no one will harm you, or stop the building of that bridge while I, or any of us still breathe! right guys!"

Hinata and Kiba both said "Right!" while everyone else just nodded their head in agreement smiling, even Sasuke and Shikamaru.

Tazuna just looked at them and smiled, "I'm glad you all are here, this wouldn't be possible without you, thank you."

"No need to thank us until your bridge is built sir." Naruto said smiling.

Tazuna just nodded, "Well it's getting late, and we have to get up early to get started on the bridge! So it's time for me to go to bed, goodnight everyone, and thank you again." He said as he got up and walked away

"I think it's time I went to bed to, I need to check on Inari as well, good night everyone." Tsunami said.

"Good Night." everyone said to them as they left, leaving just Team 7 and Team 8 at the table.

"All right everyone." Kurenai said speaking up, "Here's then plan for tomorrow, we will all get up at 5 a.m. with the bridge builder, but we all won't be going with him."

Everyone looked a bit confused by her words, but Kiba was the first to speak up.

"What do you mean? Shouldn't we all go with him, the more people that are with him the safer he'll be right?" Kiba asked confused.

"Yes, but really 8 people is a little to much, so Kakashi and me have made a plan. Since we will be here for at least a week, we might as well train while we are here as well. So at 5 a.m. 3 people including one sensei of course, will stay with the bridge builder to protect him while the other 5 go out to the forest to train. We will stay out there until 1 p.m. training, and then we will switch out, and the other team will go protect the bridge builder while the other goes and trains. Then that'll stay like that until 8 p.m. when the bridge builder goes home. Any questions?" Kurenai asked.

"Yeah, this all sounds good and all, but what if the bridge builder gets attacked and we aren't there?" Sasuke asked confused.

"Don't work about that Sasuke." Kakashi said speaking up, "Me and Kurenai will wear earpieces incase that does happen, and will contact each other if we need backup. So it should work out just fine." He said calmly.

"I've got one to, why is there 5 people going to train in the morning instead of it being 4, that way it would be even." Kiba asked confused.

"That's a good question, and the answer is simple, we expect if they are going to attack us then it will be in the evening and not the morning or afternoon, so we'd rather have 5 people there during the evening then during the morning because of this. Plus even if they do attack us during the morning 3 people should still be plenty to hold them off until help arrives anyway." Kakashi said.

"I guess that does make sense." Kiba said satisfied with the answer he was given.

"I've got a question." Naruto said.

"Well shoot."

"Well, since we are on going to be in groups, who's group am I in?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Yeah, I wanna know to!" Sakura shouted.

"Alright, Alright, don't worry we all ready know who all is in groups, but you all won't find out until the morning." Kakashi said smirking.

"What? Why not?!" Sakura yelled.

"Yeah, what kind of crap is that!" Kiba said madly.

"It's no crap, Kakashi and I just want it to be a surprise that's all." She said smirking as well.

"Well I better not be in a group with a loser like Naruto!" Sakura shouted.

Hinata could feel herself getting mad again by her insult. She didn't know why, but whenever she insulted him it really made her mad. She held it in like last time though, this time it was a little harder though.

"Hey! That's not very nice Sakura!" Naruto yelled.

"Well it's true you know, maybe she just doesn't want to be held back by a loser like you." Sasuke said smirking.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that for mine and your sake, you little douche bag!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke was about to yell back, but was stopped by Shikamaru.

"Oh my god, you guys are so lame. Seriously, who cares what team we are on, it's going to be a drag either way it goes. I'm going to bed; you guys are way too troublesome for me." He said as he got up and headed for his bed.

Sasuke could feel his teeth grind together, "I swear, if he doesn't stop saying lame, drag, and troublesome, I'm going to kill him." He said angrily.

"Ha, I think it's kinda funny myself, especially the way you react whenever he says it, priceless." Kiba said laughing.

Sasuke just choose to ignore dog breathe this time, but he was really starting to get fed up with him and Naruto, and they hadn't even been together one day yet.

"Well I guess it's time for us to hit the bed, now everyone get a good nights rest, your going to need it tomorrow." Kurenai said a little bit evilly, as her and Kakashi headed for their rooms, and the rest of them followed them.

Naruto and Hinata were the last up the the stairs, which meant they had to get the last 2 rooms, but when she got to the end of the hall, she noticed there was just one room left with two beds in it. Naruto ran right in and hit the bed with a thud, instantly falling asleep. Hinata wasn't sure what to do though. Luckily Kurenai sensei was still in the hallway.

"Sensei." Hinata said walking up to her.

"Yes Hinata?"

"Well you see….. there isn't another room for me to sleep in they are all taken."

"Oh, well there are two beds in Naruto's room; you can sleep in there if you like."

This instantly made Hinata turn really red, sleeping in the same room with Naruto? Only in her dreams had she ever thought that would happen.

Kurenai saw the girl turn really red and looked like she could faint, just like she expected her to react though to sleeping in the same room with Naruto.

Kurenai smiled, "Well I mean, you don't have to Hinata if you don't want to, I can just sleep in Naruto's room if you want and you can take my room."

"What? Ummm…. no… that's alright sensei, but t-thank you." She said still really red, and turned to go into her and Naruto's room.

Kurenai just smiled at her and walked into her room. 'Her love for this boy is really something else; I've never seen anything like it in all my days. I hope one day she gets the courage to tell him one day, or he starts getting a little less clueless and figures it out himself.' She thought as she laid down onto her bed.

Hinata walked into Naruto's room as red as a tomato, luckily he was still fast asleep though. She quietly crept into her bed making as little noise as possible. She thought she had been successful in not waking him up, but as soon as she started to close her eyes he turned over and looked at her from his bed.

"Well it's about time Hinata, I thought you'd never come to bed." He said a little groggily.

His words made her instantly turn red again, even more this time, "W-What do y-you mean N-Naruto." she said stuttering as bad as the first time she ever talked to him.

Naruto looked at her confused, wondering why she was so red, but he didn't really think about it to much since she did stay red faced about half the time he saw her.

"Well, I just thought since there were two beds and no more rooms that we would have to share this room, that's all. I was gonna come look for you when you didn't come, but my bed felt so good I couldn't move." He said laughing a little bit.

Hinata's face turned from red to a little bit of disappointment, "Oh…." She said weakly.

Naruto instantly saw the disappointment on her face though, and wasn't sure why she did look disappointed, but didn't want her to feel bad because of something stupid he said.

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked with a confused look on his face.

"W-what do you mean Naruto?" she asked confused as well.

"Well… I saw you looked disappointed and a bit sad after what I said, I'm sorry if I offended you." He said sincerely.

Hinata turned red again, "Oh, no it's not t-that, it's just um…." she said, not really sure what to say next.

"It's just what?" he asked puzzled.

Hinata could feel her body tense up, she wasn't really sure what to say. If she told him the truth and that he it made her sad because she liked him, he would probably think she was a freak, but if she said nothing it would offend him. What if he did like her though? If she admitted her feelings to him and he liked her back then they could go on a date just like she had always dreamed, but if he didn't like her he would probably hate her, and never talk to her again which would break her heart. She had no idea what to do, she could feel her body heat up like it never has before, and she was shaking all over.

"Hinata, Are you ok? You're not looking so good, and you're shaking." He asked concerned.

Hinata tried to make words come out, but she couldn't do it, she wanted to tell him she liked him so bad, but she just couldn't. She had to though; she had to find the courage to tell him…. Yes, she was going to do it, she was going to tell him.

"N-Naruto…." She said shakily.

"Yes Hinata?" he said still concerned.

"I-I….I….." as soon as she tried to get it out though, she felt the eyes roll to the back of her head and she passed out.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked concerned looking at her, "Hinata!" he yelled as he got up and went over to her bed.

It wasn't Naruto's worst fear though, she was still breathing, and her pulse was still beating just fine. Naruto couldn't help but notice how cute she looked while she was sleeping.

"Dang, I guess she must have really been tired" Naruto said yawning, "I wonder what she was going to tell me though….. maybe I'll ask her one day, if I can remember. I don't exactly have the best memory though." He said chuckling a little, and then got back in his bed.

"Good night Hinata." he whispered as he fell into a deep sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto woke up the next morning at 4:45 a.m. feeling rejuvenated, he had a really good sleep last night, he only got about 6 hours of sleep, but he made them count. He noticed Hinata was already up out of her bed, so he quickly threw on his trademark orange gear, and took off downstairs.

When he got there everyone was already there ready to go.

"There you are Naruto, I thought I was gonna have to come and get you up there for a second." Kurenai said smirking.

"Yeah man, I thought I was gonna have to get Akamaru to come and wake you up, and you don't wanna see what he does when he wakes people up." Kiba said smirking.

"Well you guys said we would leave at 5 a.m. how was I suppose to know you guys wanted to leave early?" Naruto said frowning a bit.

"I guess you weren't, but shinobi should always be early for everything." She said in a way that made it sound like a fact.

"I beg to differ." Kakashi said chuckling a bit.

"Well of course you would Kakashi; you're always late for everything in life. If you would get your head out of those disgusting orange books, maybe you wouldn't be." She said laughing a bit as well.

"True, but no way I'd ever give up my books."

"Heh, I never expected you to anyway." She said still laughing a bit, "Alright then, let's go."

"Wait a minute" Kiba said, "You still haven't told us what groups we are in yet."

This made both sensei's laugh a little bit, kind of evilly. Everyone just stared at them weirdly, wondering why they were laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" Kiba said a bit annoyed.

"Well because… we aren't telling you." Kakashi said with a grin.

"What? What do you mean you aren't?" Sasuke said in angry tone.

"Yeah, stop messing with us, it's not funny." Naruto said mad as well.

"Ah, but I'm not, you see, we actually didn't come up with groups last night." Kurenai said.

"What!? What do you mean you didn't make groups!" Sakura said madly.

"Well, just that, we just told you we did so you'd all shut up. You see we decided we'd just make the groups random, so that's where these cards come into play." Kakashi said as he pulled out some cards.

Kurenai then spoke up, "You see, your all going to pick a card, and whatever number you have on that card will tell you what you will be doing, either training right now, or guarding the bridge builder. Number one will mean you will be training in the morning, and 2 will mean you will be protecting the bridge builder right now. So go ahead, pick a card." She said with a slightly weird evil grin on her face.

No one really paid attention to it though, and just picked a card like she said.

Naruto slowly reached for a card just like everyone else. As soon as he pulled it he looked at it, he got number 1.

"I got number 1, who else got it?" Naruto asked.

"I did!" Kiba said with a grin.

"I did to." Shikamaru said.

"Me to." Hinata said smiling, happy she was with Naruto.

"Alright!" Naruto yelled, all the people he was hoping to be on a group with were in his group.

"Alright then" Kurenai said. "Let's get going." They all ran out the door, all of them happy they were in the group they wanted to be in….. or so they thought.

"You know, this prank seems like a little harsh." Kakashi said.

"Oh please, I've done worse to my team" she said laughing, "Besides, it's also teaching them a lesson as well."

"I suppose your right, I just hope they don't react too badly, they really are annoying when they get mad." He said sighing.

"Ha, you're definitely right about that." she said smiling as they walked out the door.

"Alright if you got card 2 come with me, and you to Tazuna." Kakashi said as they began to start walking.

"Alright, let's hope this all goes smoothly." Tazuna said.

"Indeed." Kakashi said as they walked off from the others.

"Alright then, the rest of you follow me to the training grounds." Kurenai said as they started walking as well.

"I wonder what we will be learning about." Naruto said excitedly, "I really hope we get to learn some cool jutsu, maybe she can finally show us how to do that thing she does when she absorbs into the ground."

"Yeah that would be cool, but I'm thinking we will just be learning about basic stuff. I'm hoping we get to learn some fire style jutsu now, after we learned that water blast jutsu recently." Kiba said excited to.

"Yeah, that sounds pretty cool." Naruto said.

"Yeah this should be really fun and exciting! Right Sasuke?" Shikamaru said.

"Yeah, I guess." Hinata responded

Naruto was confused by Shikamaru's sudden excitement, but really confused that he said Sasuke, because Sasuke was no where around here. I was even more confusing because Hinata was the one that answered, and answered in a way just like Sasuke would.

Naruto looked at Kiba and saw he was really confused as well; they both looked at each other and shrugged, and decided to just ignore it.

Eventually they made it to a forest filled with really tall trees. Kurenai eventually stopped in the middle of the forest, in an opening that was perfect for training.

"Well, I hope you all are excited to train today, we have a lot of stuff to go over, I hope you guys are ready." She said smirking.

"Ha, you know I'm always ready sensei, believe it!" Naruto said grinning.

She just smiled back at him, "Then I hope you can believe this."

Naruto along with everyone else just looked at her confused, "What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Well you see we haven't been completely truthful to you guys…. You see those cards were more than just simple cards…" Kurenai said with an evil look on her face that Naruto knew far too well.

"What do you mean they weren't just cards?" Kiba asked confused.

"Well, I could tell you, but how about I just go ahead and show you." Kurenai said as she snapped her fingers.

Suddenly, time just seemed to stop for Naruto and everyone else, and as soon as it happened, it left, everyone feel to ground blurry eyed and a little nauseous.

When Naruto finally stood up, he couldn't believe what he saw. Instead of Kurenai sensei standing in front of them, Kakashi sensei was standing there, in the same spot she was just in. Naruto looked around and saw Kiba and Shikamaru were gone to, and now Sasuke and Sakura were there with the same very confused look on their face. Luckily Hinata was still there, but in the same spot Kiba was just in, she looked very confused to.

"Ok, what the Hell just happened?!" Naruto shouted.

"Yeah, What is this? Naruto and Hinata were not here a second ago!" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi just grinned at them, "Well you see, it was all Kurenai's idea, but I guess I sorta played along with it as well, so it is my fault to."

"What do you mean?!" Sakura asked angrily.

"You see that cards you looked at were encoded with a special kind of genjutsu, anyone that looked at them would get what they wanted to get, and see what they wanted to see. That's why you all just seemed to appear out of nowhere, the whole time you were just seeing the people you wanted to see instead of the real thing. So when I snapped my fingers and made the genjutsu wear off, you guys finally saw what was real."

Everyone looked confused at first, but once the information soaked in, their confusion turned into anger.

"So you mean you guys tricked us?! Why would you do that!?" Naruto asked furiously.

"Yeah! That's some really sneaky bullshit!" Sakura said just as furiously.

Kakashi just sighed as they all stared him down with hatred, "Look it was for your own good."

"And how is that huh!?" Sasuke asked.

"You see, if we would have just picked you all out this way, you guys would have hated the idea of working together and probably wouldn't have it, but because you got on the team you wanted you instantly were happy about it, why is that?" Kakashi asked.

"Well I don't know… maybe because we were with the people we wanted to be with!" Sakura screamed.

"Yes, that is true Sakura, but why must you guys hate each other huh? Why can't you work together?"

"Because we don't like each other, and don't want to be on the same team together." Sakura said.

"And that's the lesson here, you see in life you don't always get what you want, but if you don't make the most out of what you do get, you're just a failure. Someone who can't get ahead in life just because of some dumb hatred. You guys are teammates on this mission, whether you like it or not, which is why we put you guys together in this group; you guys hate each other the most, so we wanted to see if you guys really are up to the challenge, or if you guys just want to walk away and be failures. I know you guys, and know none of you are failures, so please don't let my words be untrue. So what's it going to be?" Kakashi asked.

Everyone just sat there for a minute, they were still mad, but they sorta understood, in life there will be things you don't want to do, but it's how you deal with things you don't wanna do that really defines you as a person, and a ninja. So they all knew what they were going to do, they weren't quitters, and won't be backing down now, no matter how much they hate each other, and no matter what the challenge is.

Naruto looked up at Kakashi confidently, "I never back down sensei! I don't care what gets thrown my way, I'll always keep pushing till I reach my goal, my goal of becoming hokage! Nothing will ever stop me from reaching my dream! Believe it!" he said still grinning, "And at the very least I still got Hinata here!" Naruto said as he smiled at her, which made her turn red as she smiled back at him.

Naruto's outburst made up everyone's minds. They won't be backing down, not now, not ever.

Kakashi smiled at Naruto, the boy really had confidence, and the will to get stronger. He knew he was capable of great things, many people of the village just saw him as a demon and nothing more, but Kakashi knew better. He knew Naruto could become something great, even something as great as hokage, he certainly had the capability. Thanks to the nine-tailed fox he had a vast amount of chakra already, even more than himself, and it will only grow in time, and with the right training, it's scary to even think about how strong Naruto could become, he really is something.

Kakashi looked up at his group with pride, "So I take you all are staying?"

They all nodded their heads with confidence, and determination in their eyes.

Kakashi smiled, "Then let's begin."

**Author's Notes**

**Sorry about being a little late on this update, I tried to get it out Saturday like I had hoped to, but just got caught up in a busy schedule, and didn't have the time to finish it up and get it out, but I hope you all enjoyed it either way :D**

**The flashback at the beginning was probably just a one time thing; it just felt necessary since I was starting off exactly where I left off from last chapter in this chapter.**

**Please Read and Review of course, your opinions mean a lot to me and help motivate me a lot, and ideas for my story/constructive criticism are always helpful, and much appreciated as well.**

**Until next time, peace out.**

**- Riley**


	6. Chapter 6: The Plan

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to the great Kishimoto, not me, but I do claim this story and characters I create as my own.**

**"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" means time skip/character ****point of view change.**

**Haku is also a girl in this story, I'm sorry if this makes some of you mad, but I prefer him being a girl, it just fits better with the story in my opinion.**

**Now, on to the story**

**Chapter 6: The Plan**

Zabuza Momochi sat on the side of his bed, looking at his infamous sword he carried with him at all times, and had slain countless people with. He could see the pain, and blood stains engraved in the sword, he could almost see every memory of everyone he had ever killed with it, just by staring at it. The number was so high he could stare at his sword for days and still have more memories left.

Zabuza Momochi regretted this every time he looked at his sword, he regretted all the innocent people he had killed. He was a demon though, the demon of the village hidden in the mist, yet every time he looked at it he almost cried, he regretted the things he had done in the past, it was enough to almost drive him insane and almost suicidal. But then he remembered why he did it, why he took the lives of so many innocent people. He had a goal, he would take over the village hidden in the mist, he would get his revenge on the country that betrayed him, and treated him like an outcast, whatever it took he would get what he wanted, he would get his revenge, even if it killed him.

Sometimes he couldn't help but want to just wanted to end it all though, put the sword that he had killed so many countless others with, and just slice his throat and just end it, but he wouldn't allow himself to go out like that. He might have before, but ever since he meet that little girl so many years ago, he just couldn't, he couldn't let her down and suffer, she basically lived for him.

Haku…. She had served him like a loyal slave ever since they met. When he met her she was just a little weak child, but Zabuza saw the power within her, she had the talent to become a very powerful ninja. She had grown strong over the years, even stronger than himself with her mirrors technique, her kekkei genkai has proven most useful, it is almost unbeatable against anyone, she could destroy anyone with it, even the most powerful of shinobi. She had proven to be very useful to him, and one of the most important people of his life, but she was an also one of the reasons he hated himself. He had treated her awfully over the years, like a door mat just waiting in get stepped on and used. He loved her, yet he treated her like a tool, he just didn't know how to show love, how to love somebody, and it scared him to think that he did love her.

She never once complained about how he treated her though. It was almost kind of eerie how she seemed to enjoy the way he treated her, and forced her to do certain things, and kill certain people. She certainly seemed to enjoy it; it was almost like if he was happy then she was happy as well. His goal was her goal, anything he wanted she wanted, every risk he took she took right along side him. He just hoped once this was all over, and his goal was accomplished he could finally make it up to her, and maybe stop being a demon for once, and stop hating everything, he could only hope… He could always start now though, try to be nice….. but only once this was over could he ever truly show how he felt.

Suddenly a gust of wind appeared in front of him, which quickly formed the person he had just been thinking of, Haku.

She looked at him with a happy look on her face, "I see you have finally recovered from your battle with Kakashi."

"Yes… I'm now ready to go and end this." He said sternly.

"Are you sure? It would almost be suicidal now; they now have another jounin with them, and three more genins that look very promising."

"Haku, you know I have to do this, if I don't we'll never have enough money to ever accomplish our goal of taking over the village hidden in the mist. This is our last chance, if I don't do it now everything I've ever worked towards will be lost, and I'd rather die then face that." He said in a serious tone.

"Well then I'm going with you, like I said it'd be suicidal if you went alone, at least with me there we will have a chance." Haku said concerned.

Zabuza just sighed, he didn't want her to end up dying, but he knew she wouldn't take no for an answer, and really he didn't stand a chance if he did go alone. Kakashi tore him to pieces last fight, but he knew this time things would be different, he had a plan against him that could make things even, but if the other jounin and genins interfered it wouldn't matter, he'd be destroyed.

"Fine, but please….. just be careful." He said with a look of concern Haku had never seen before.

Haku looked at him in shock, he had never told her to be careful before, he actually cared about her…

She looked at him and smiled, "I-I….. I will." She said stuttering a little, still shocked at what he said.

Zabuza smiled through his mask, which shocked her even more, he hardly ever smiled, and if he did, it was an evil smile.

"Alright then, let's go." He said.

But as soon as they were about to leave, the least person in the world he wanted to see right now appeared, Gato, his stupid employer that he had to put up with to get the money that he needed.

"Not so fast there Zabuza." He said smirking.

"What is it Gato, I was just about to leave to care of your problem once and for all."

"That's just the thing, I've realized you're just not strong enough to do it." he said grinning.

Zabuza could feel his brow twitch, "Why you….. I should kill you for insulting me, but I'll let it slid this time..." he said angrily.

Gato just laughed, "Oh please Zabuza, you can't kill me, you need me and you know it, without me your finished, and your dream is to." He said coldly, which made Zabuza even madder.

"But I didn't come here to start a fight with you, I know your taking the girl there with you this time, but I know it still won't be enough." He said seriously. "That's why I'm here to make an offer with you, to save both of your butts, I offer some backup."

Zabuza looked at him curiously, "I'm listening…..."

"Boys, come on in." Gato yelled with a smirk.

Suddenly from the shadows two men came out. One was dressed in a red outfit, which consisted of a tight long sleeve shirt, and red loose fitting pants, while the other was dressed in a very similar blue outfit. Both of them had long hair, dyed in the color of their outfits. They kind of looked silly, but at the same time they were intimidating and looked powerful as well.

Zabuza recognized them immediately, "The elemental brothers huh… Chili and Cress Harunuka."

They both smirked at him, "It's good to see our names have reached to even the most secluded of people like you." Chili said pleased.

"Yes, well even secluded people like me and Haku still keep up with world of the shinobi." He said smirking, "I must say, I'm impressed Gato, this backup is very strong, both high ranking chunin of Orochimaru's followers, but…. What will it cost us." Zabuza said looking straight at Gato.

Gato just smirked, "Well, I'm very generous today; these boys are willing to work cheaply as well, so you're in luck. I'd say 30% of your total will go to them. Don't even try to argue about it with me Zabuza, we both know without them you don't stand much of a chance, and this is a very good deal. Just take it so we can get this over with." He said in a serious tone.

Zabuza stared at the ground, he had to admit it was a fairly good deal, but 30% means he still wouldn't have enough money for his goal yet, but if he didn't accept it they'd most likely die. He couldn't make this decision on his own.

Zabuza looked up at Haku, "What do you think Haku?" he asked.

Haku looked surprised, he never asked for her opinion on something before, he was really acting strange today, which made her worry abit, but it also kind of made her feel something she had never felt before, she didn't know exactly what it was, except that it felt…. Good.

She looked at the men standing near Gato, from what she had heard they would definitely be useful. She then looked back at Zabuza, she knew she didn't want him to die today; she wanted him to accomplish his goal, their goal. Without the brothers she was very unsure if they could do that, 30% loss would set them back, but it wouldn't destroy them like not doing this job at all would. It was nothing that they couldn't make up very fast. She now knew what they had to do.

"I think we should take it, we need their help Zabuza, it's nothing we can't make up in time, just a set back." She said in a serious tone.

Zabuza looked at her and nodded, and then looked at Gato, "It's settled then, we will take your backup."

Gato smiled at them evilly, "Smart choice, well you heard them boys, listen to anything they tell you to do. I'll be on my way then, I expect the head of the bridge builder when you return….." he said before turning and leaving.

Chili and Cress both nodded at him as he left, and then walked over to Zabuza and Haku.

"Ok then, we are both at your service, what's the plan?" Cress asked.

Zabuza looked at Haku, "Well Haku, you've been scouting them out this past week. What can you tell us?" he asked.

"Well from what I've seen, three people, one jounin and two genin protect the bridge builder from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Then they switch out with five others after that and leave one jounin, Kakashi himself, and four genin. I've noticed they all look fairly tired when they arrive, so I assume they must be training, while the others are guarding him in the morning."

Zabuza put his hand on his chin thinking, "I think the best plan would be for me and you to attack them at about 1:20 p.m. then, while you two go and follow the other team until they stop at their destination, then when they get word of us attacking, you jump out and kill them. I should be able to handle Kakashi now that I've got a plan, and Haku can handle four simple genin easy."

"That sounds like a good plan to me." Chili said nodding.

"Yes, and the idea of fighting a jounin excites me….. it's been a while since we've done that brother." Cress said licking his lips.

"Yes, plus messing around with two helpless genin sounds fun as well." Chili said smirking evilly.

"Ok then, it's settled, we should head off now then, it's 12:00 p.m. already and the bridge builder is almost done with the bridge, so we have no time to waste." Zabuza said excitement in his voice at the thought of getting his payback against Kakashi, and him begging for mercy at his feet.

"Alright, let's do it!" the two brothers yelled, and then they all took off, all of them bursting with evil excitement.

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The past week had gone by fast for Hinata. There hadn't been much action though, everyday they would go out to train at 5 a.m. till 1 p.m. and then they would switch with the other group and protect the bridge builder from 1 p.m. till 8p.m. Then they would go back to Tazuna's and eat and then go to bed.

Hinata could hardly sleep each night though, the thought of being in a room with Naruto sleeping on the other bed next to her kept her awake. It would make her feel really nervous, when really there was no reason to be, Naruto was so tired and full from eating dinner each night, that he had hit the bed each day and instantly fell asleep every night. Yet she couldn't help but feel nervous with him sleeping there, it was comforting though in a way to just sit there and watch him sleep, it was kind of weird, but it comforted her to watch him sleep. Even in his sleep the confidence and courage he had still radiated off of him just like it did when she first me him. His confidence, courage, and determination to be the best is what made Hinata like him in the first place. He had been treated so badly by others, told he would never accomplish his dreams, that he would never be strong, that he would never become a ninja, just like she had been told by her clan, but instead of just a clan though, it was the whole village that said it to him.

Instead of accepting what people said though like she did, he used their words as motivation. It never made him lose any confidence or belief in himself, no matter how many times they said it, or even how many people said it to him, he always believed in himself. He would become hokage no matter what anybody else said, he would accomplish his dream no matter what it took. Whenever he was around, Hinata believed in herself to, it was like it rubbed off on her whenever he was near. When he was not around she only felt empty, and had no confidence in herself at all, but when he was there it filled her up with it, and made her happy. She really liked… No, loved Naruto, but she just couldn't find the courage to tell him…. She hoped one day she could, when she became as brave as he was. She just prayed it wasn't too late by then.

The training they had been through this week had been easy for her and Sakura, but exhausting for Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi sensei was teaching them how to better control their chakra, which could help a lot in a battle. The way to train your chakra control was actually quite simple, you just had to be able to walk up a tree with just your feet using your chakra. Putting the right amount of chakra through your feet and walking up on a tree is one of the hardest things you can do, so if you master it, then controlling your chakra would almost become second nature to you Kakashi sensei explained to them.

Me and Sakura had it down pat easy, we both already knew fairly well how to control our chakra so it was a piece of cake, but Naruto and Sasuke couldn't hardly do it at all. Kakashi sensei had given me and Sakura the rest of the week off after we showed how easy we could do it; we still trained while the boys worked towards climbing the tree though.

Naruto had gotten so frustrated and exhausted everyday, but he never gave up. The two boys had ignored each other all week the best they could, but it was evident they were competing against each other, they both wanted to be the first to master it before the other did. Funny thing is they never had even said a word to each other all week, but they both wanted to beat the other so badly. They really did hate each other, yet you could tell their rivalry pushed them even farther in their training, she had never seen two people train so hard in the past week.

They both were so close to mastering it, and today one of them probably would master it. Hinata hoped it would be Naruto, today was the last day to, because the bridge was almost complete. They had gone the whole week with no attacks on either team, so Hinata hoped that meant Gato had given up after Kakashi sensei had beaten Zabuza, and they had beaten the last demon brother, Meizu. Hinata was enjoying her stay here though, and didn't really want to leave, the only thing that was annoying her was none other than the pink haired kunoichi Sakura.

The past week all she had done was be mean to Naruto, he never did anything to her to start it either, she was just mean to him just to be mean. Every time Naruto would fail to climb the tree she would laugh at him, and tell him to give up, that he couldn't ever hope to beat Sasuke, and that he was a failure. Naruto just ignored her though, and kept trying his best just like Hinata knew he would. She really just wanted to knock her out every time she said something mean to him, but she held it in, she didn't know if she could take anymore of it today though.

Just then Naruto's alarm clock finally decided to go off, it was 4:40 a.m. already. Hinata had been up for 20 minutes, but had just been thinking things over and lost track of time, she had always been up and ready to go by that time Naruto's alarm went off. So it was a surprise to Naruto to see her still in her bed.

"Hey Hinata, what are you doing still in the bed huh?" he asked yawning.

"Umm, I-I just lost track of time." She said a little shyly.

"Oh, ok, it's no big deal I was just wondering" he said smiling, "Aren't you excited to get this over with today? This mission sure has been boring, no action at all, and all I've been doing is trying to climb a tree." He said laughing a bit.

Hinata giggled a bit at him, "Yes, but it is good training, it has made you a lot stronger I can already tell."

"Ha, it certainly has made me tired everyday I know that." He said smirking.

'Especially since I haven't took my weights off the whole time, and actually increased them a bit….. sheesh, maybe I should take them off at least one time…..' He thought to himself.

"Well, being tired just means you've been working hard, and you certainly have Naruto, just like you always d-do." she said smiling.

Naruto smiled back, "Gee, thanks Hinata, but I'm still not near as good as you… I mean you climbed the tree on the first try like it was nothing! And here I am a week later and I still haven't mastered it yet…" He said looking down a bit sad.

Hinata saw this, and instantly felt bad knowing she had made him feel bad because she got it so easily, "N-Naruto, just because I got it on the first try doesn't mean anything. The only reason I really got it so easy was because us Hyuga's have to learn to control our chakra at a very young age. So it was easy for me because of this."

"Yeah but…"

"No buts Naruto, I mean if I was in your shoes I probably would have given up a long time ago….. People have been so mean to you Naruto….. Yet you keep pushing through every time Naruto, no matter what someone says to you, or does to you, you just keep getting back up and working at it, and use their words as motivation. You never give in, and you never give up, which is what makes you so strong, and the strongest person I know Naruto. I could only wish to be as strong as you one day." She said smiling and blushing.

Naruto looked at her confused, yet really happy, she really knew how to make him feel happy…. Naruto felt something inside his heart he had never really felt before, he didn't know what it was, but it felt good, and he knew it was because of Hinata.

"Thank you Hinata….. You always know how to make me feel better….. You're a really good friend…. My best friend." He said smiling, and for the first time Hinata ever seen, he was blushing a little as well.

Hinata wasn't sure what to say she was so happy, Naruto considered her his best friend….. something she thought he would never say, especially a month ago when he didn't even know she existed. It was almost overwhelming for Hinata, but she found the courage to muster out words.

"Y-You're my best friend t-to, N-Naruto." She said blushing madly, barely keeping herself from fainting.

Naruto just smiled at her rubbing the back of his head, still a little red.

Naruto was about to get up, when he suddenly turned around and looked at Hinata again,

"Oh, and by the way, your already strong to, whether you realize it or not."

This made her even redder then she already was, Naruto always knew how to make her feel better…. Just like she knew how to make him feel better.

Naruto then gave her one last smile and got up, but as soon as he did Hinata suddenly fainted, and fell on the ground.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled, as he rushed over to her, he picked her up and rushed her out the door hoping someone was nearby that could help, luckily Kurenai sensei was already at his door.

"Sensei! Hinata just feel over and fainted!"

Kurenai just looked at him suspiciously, "You act like this is a surprise Naruto, she faints all the time you know."

"Yeah I know! But this time I'm not really sure why, is she going to be alright?" he asked concerned.

Kurenai just chuckled at the clueless boy and noticed something the boy obviously had not already, "Naruto I think I know why she fainted….."

Naruto looked as clueless as ever though, "You do? Why?"

She then started laughing, "Naruto look at yourself…. your naked." She said as she started bursting out laughing.

Naruto looked down and saw she was right.

'Ah crap! I forgot! I was so worn out last night I forgot to even put any clothes on after got out of the shower, so that means… Hinata saw me naked!' Naruto horridly thought.

Kurenai then stopped laughing when she saw he hadn't even moved, "Well don't just stand there naked! Go put some clothes on you idiot!" she yelled.

That woke Naruto right up from his thoughts, "Oh, sorry sensei!" he yelled as he put Hinata down and ran back in his room.

Kurenai shaked her head, "I swear, that boy can be about as dumb as a dog sometimes."

Right at that moment Kiba decided to walk out of his room with his dog on his shoulder growling at her.

"Hey sensei, Akamaru didn't seem to like what ever it was you said, what'd you say?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing….." she lied.

"Oh, ok I guess, Hey… why is Hinata on the ground asleep?" he asked confused.

"Oh you know….. the usual."

"Oh Haha, shoulda guessed it."

Naruto finally came out of his room, dressed in his usual trademark orange clothes.

"Hey Naruto!" Kiba said.

"Sup Kiba."

"Not much, good going knocking Hinata out again, guess that makes the score Hinata 78 and Naruto 3 now huh?" he said smirking.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha, very funny Kiba." Naruto said rolling his eyes.

"Hey! Somebody has to keep count!" he said still smirking, "So, what are we going to do about Hinata? It's almost time to go."

"Well I have an idea, but it's kind of mean, but it's the only thing I can think of, and it's a pretty cool jutsu." Kurenai said smiling evilly.

"Well, you've never held back your evilness to us before, so why start now?" Kiba said smirking, which made Naruto laugh.

"Good one Kiba!" Naruto said as they fist bumped each other.

Kurenai gave them both a cold glare and they both stopped laughing instantly. 'Ha, that always works.' She thought proudly to herself.

"Well fine then, since I'm sooooo evil, I guess I'll do it." She said rolling her eyes.

She then leaned down and did a few hand signs for the jutsu, "Mind Eater Jutsu." She whispered, as she entered Hinata's mind.

She then started talking into Hinata's mind, "Naruto is in trouble, he needs your help right now Hinata, or he will die." She whispered in Hinata's mind evilly.

"What….. Naruto…." she mumbled for her sleep, "NARUTO!" She yelled as she sprang up out of her unconsciousness.

As soon as she realized he was fine, and it was just a trick though, she turned as red as she had ever before.

"S-Sensei! How dare you enter my m-mind!" she yelled stuttering a bit with embarrassment.

"Sorry, it was the only thing I could think of to get you awake Hinata." Kurenai said smiling. "Now go get ready, we gotta leave in about a minute."

Hinata looked upset, but she got up and went to get ready.

"Woah! that was sick sensei!" Kiba said excitedly, "You gotta teach me how to do that."

"Ha, maybe one day Kiba" she said with a smile.

Naruto looked puzzled though, "Errr I'm confused, I know you entered her mind and all, but what did you do to make her yell my name like that?" Naruto asked looking abit frightened, but also very curious as to what the answer could be.

Kurenai just chuckled, "Wouldn't you like to know?" she said as she walked off downstairs.

"Damn, she is so dramatic….." Naruto said rolling his eyes.

"I heard that!" Kurenai yelled, which made Naruto and Kiba jump back a little.

"and she's got great hearing to….. that's just great." Naruto said sweat-dropping.

"Yeah I know man; she's one crazy, but also really cool chick, with some badass jutsus." Kiba said a little envious.

"That's one way of putting it I suppose Kiba." Naruto said laughing a bit.

Hinata then walked out of her room, ready to go.

"Hey Hinata, feeling better I hope?" Naruto asked a bit concerned and frightened. 'I hope she doesn't remember me being naked.'

"Y-Yes, I-I'm f-fine N-Naruto" she said very red, unable to look at him

'Eh, I'll take that as a yes that she does….. Oh well….' Naruto thought sighing. 'Maybe she like what she saw…' Naruto thought grinning, 'Eww no, I shouldn't think about things like that.' He thought slapping his forehead.

Hinata and Kiba both looked at him like he was crazy and a bit concerned; he had just sighed, grinned, and then slapped on the forehead in just a few seconds.

"Ummm, are you ok Naruto?" Kiba asked confused.

Naruto looked up dazed, "What…? Oh…. Oh yeah yeah, I'm fine, just fine." Naruto said kind of nervously.

They both looked at him weird, but accepted his answer.

"Alrighty then lets get going, don't wanna keep them waiting anymore guys." Kiba said speaking up.

"Yeah, let's do this, today is the last day till the bridge is done, then we can finally go home." Naruto said with a grin, as they walked downstairs.

When they got there everyone was already there waiting. Tazuna, Kakashi, Kurenai, Sasuke, Sakura, and Shikamaru who was taping his foot impatiently.

"Took you guys long enough, I was about to fall asleep waiting on you slowpokes…" Shikamaru said madly.

"Hey look guys, I can't believe it!" Kiba said smirking, "Shikamaru actually said a sentence without using the word lame, drag, or troublesome in it!" And everyone busted out laughing, even Sasuke.

Shikamaru just looked away annoyed, "Yeah, whatever idiots, can we just get on with it?" he said, holding back the need to say one of those three words at the end of his sentence.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea Shikamaru." Kakashi said still laughing a bit, "Let's get going, same as always guys."

They all nodded, and took off in their usual directions.

When Naruto and the gang finally got to their spot, Kakashi started feeling weird. He felt like something bad was going to happen today, he didn't know why, but he could feel it. He decided maybe it was just last day jitters and shrugged it off, but he knew that he hardly got jitters anymore, so it still kind of irked him in the back of his mind.

"Alright guys, we'll be doing the same as usual. Naruto and Sasuke will try to climb the trees, while you two can do whatever you want, hopefully train like you have been."

"Alright! Today's the day I go all the way!" Naruto said confidently.

"Ha, like a loser like you could ever reach the top, I guess you can always dream though." Sakura said huffing.

Naruto just ignored her as usual, but Hinata could feel her blood boiling, but this time more than usual, it took all she had to hold it back.

Sasuke just looked at Sakura and huffed. He agreed Naruto was a loser, but she said it so much it was starting to even get on his nerves; she is starting to become even more annoying than Naruto himself…..what a pain. He thought, as he started up the tree as Naruto followed on the tree beside him.

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He and Naruto had both been at it for seven hours now, they both were tired and exhausted, but both were so close to reaching the top, they both only needed one more step and they would be there. Sasuke could hardly feel his legs anymore, but if Naruto could keep going, then he could to, he wouldn't be out done by someone like Naruto, never. He had to be the best if he ever wanted to get what he wanted, and kill his brother for what he did to his clan, and he wouldn't let anyone get in his way.

Kakashi looked at his watch, it was now 12:45 p.m. He was proud of both boys; they had worked so hard this week. He was surprised they even had anything left to give now. They both looked completely out of it, drops of sweat were pouring off their skin like rain, and their faces were both as red as a red apple.

"Alright boys, I think that's enough, it's about time to switch over with the other group, just call it a day, you can work at this back in Konoha." Kakashi said.

"No." the boys both said in unison.

Kakashi raised his brow, "What do you mean no?" he asked kind of mad.

"I mean no!" Naruto yelled, "I will get this! Here and now! If it's the last thing I do!" Naruto yelled with determination.

"Not if I don't get it first." Sasuke said smirking.

Naruto looked shocked at Sasuke, it was the first thing Sasuke had said to Naruto ever since they started their training. Sure it wasn't the nicest of things, but it wasn't the meanest of things ever, in any case, Naruto loves a challenge.

"Are you challenging me Sasuke?" Naruto said smirking back at him.

"I thought that's what we had been doing all a long, trying to beat each other to the top first, but I suppose this is a more formal challenge." He said.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Well, I don't know what formal means, but you're on!" Naruto yelled with fire in his eyes.

"Ha, you're still an idiot I see, in both ways to I see." He said still smirking.

"Whatever, let's just do this, I'll get it this next try now that I've got motivation!" Naruto yelled confidently.

"Fine, but don't think for a second that you will win!" Sasuke yelled.

Kakashi was both shocked and also proud. They both looked like they could fall over unconscious at anytime from exhaustion a minute ago, yet just a simple challenge and they both looked 100% again. It's crazy what a little motivation could do for Sasuke, and Naruto. Kakashi was definitely right when he thought Naruto would give Sasuke motivation, that's certainly something he's given Sasuke plenty of, even more than he thought imaginable.

"Alright then" Kakashi said speaking up, "I'll let you both try one more time, but this is it, if you both don't get it it's over until we return to Konoha, then you can both keep practicing it there."

"No need Kakashi sensei." Naruto said, "I've got it this time for sure, Believe it!" he yelled smiling with a thumbs up.

"Ha, there we go with the believe it crap again, I'll believe it when you actually do it you loser!" Sakura yelled.

Hinata almost lost it right then and there, but with all her might held it in, right now was certainly not the time to start a fight, especially since this was Naruto's last chance.

"You can do it Naruto, I believe in you." Hinata said smiling at him, Naruto turned around and gave her a thumbs up before turning around and focusing.

"Alright then, this is your last chance boys, are you ready?" Kakashi asked.

They both nodded their head, focused completely on their target.

"Alright then…..Go." Kakashi said, as both boys took off as fast as their tired bodies could muster.

"Come on Sasuke! I know you can do it!" Sakura yelled as they both made their ways up the trees.

As soon as she said that, they had both made it half way already and in a few seconds they were both 3/4th the way there.

'I'm gonna make it! I have to make it!' Naruto yelled in his mind.

'I can't be outdone by this clown, I have to beat him!' Sasuke thought furiously in his mind as well.

They both were neck and neck, side by side, and mere feet away from the top, they both were gonna make it.

When suddenly Sakura yelled, "Sasuke, I love you!"

This made Sasuke lose his concentration and his footing, mere inches from the top, as he pummeled down he saw Naruto reach the top effortlessly.

He was caught by Kakashi sensei before he hit the ground, which probably would have hurt him badly, or even killed him if he hadn't caught him.

Naruto then came running down, with a look of disappointment on his face, he had won, but he knew it was just because Sakura's stupid fan girl self had distracted Sasuke when she yelled she loved him.

Sasuke was boiling mad with anger, unsure who to take it out on exactly he was so mad, but then Naruto walked up to him with his hand extended.

Naruto had an understanding look on his face, that somehow Sasuke understood he knew why he had fell, and shared his anger to. Sasuke was a master at making out people's emotions and true intentions just like all Uchiha's, yet he was able to see Naruto's even better than he had ever remembered seeing from anybody else before…. Did it mean… did it mean he finally had access to his clan's famous sharingan?

Sasuke looked around… it was true…. he could see things so much differently now, just the way the sharingan was said to let people see. Sasuke knew know it was because of Naruto he was able to get access to the Sharingan. This was a much bigger achievement than ever climbing a tree, which he probably could have anyway if it wasn't for Sakura's stupid self. This was his clan's greatest gift, and he now had access to it thanks to Naruto, he wasn't sure how Naruto had granted him access to it, but he just knew it was because of him.

Sasuke surprised and shocked everyone when he reached out and took Naruto's hand, and firmly shook it. Naruto even looked at him a bit shocked as well, and then smiled.

Sasuke smirked at him, "Don't think this means anything, we're still rivals."

Naruto grinned, "I wouldn't want it any other way."

Kakashi looked at the both proud, "Well I'm glad to see there's no hard feelings between you two. Congratulations by the way Naruto, you won." Kakashi said smiling.

"Yes, that was great Naruto! I'm very happy you finally did it." Hinata said happily.

"Thanks Hinata, thanks Kakashi sensei." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head.

"Yes, good job Naruto, next time though, you won't win." Sasuke said.

"Ha, I knew you'd say that, so don't be surprised when I say you won't win next time either." Naruto said smirking.

Everything was going fine now between everyone, but of course the one and only Sakura had to ruin everything.

"Oh please Naruto, you only won because you obviously cheated! There's no way you could ever beat Sasuke fair and square and you know it!" Sakura yelled furiously.

Naruto just ignored her as usual, but everyone else glared at her, and Hinata looked like she was about to explode.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, "Come on Sasuke you know he cheated!"

Sasuke then looked at her with a cold glare, "Shut up."

Sakura looked shocked, "What… what'd you say?"

"I said shut up you dumb bitch!" Sasuke said furiously.

Sakura backed up a little and looked scared to death, "Sasuke….. please…. please don't be mad at me." She said getting teary eyed.

"Don't give me that shit Sakura! Ever since we've been training all you've been is an annoying little bitch to me, and all you've done is insult Naruto to the point that even you were getting on my nerves by insulting him… and I hate him to."

He turned and smirked at Naruto, which he returned, but then looked back at Sakura again with same fury as before.

"Not only that, but if it wasn't for you I would have made it to the top! When you called out your stupid fan girl love for me it set me off balance, and I almost died. So please, just stay away from me from now on, all you are is trouble, and your annoying as hell, and I really don't like that." Sasuke said coldly, breaking Sakura's heart, as he started to walk away.

"Sasuke! Come back!" she yelled, but he was already gone.

Kakashi sensei sighed, 'I thought young love was supposed to be romantic, not depressing…..'

"I'm going after him to talk to him, you guys stay here." Kakashi said, as he took off after Sasuke.

Sakura then started bawling, she had made Sasuke as mad as she had ever seen him, she didn't know if he'd ever forgive her…

Hinata couldn't care less, but Naruto was kind of concerned for her, she had been very mean to him, but nobody deserved the treatment Sasuke had just given her. It must be a lot worse to since she basically loves him as well.

He walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder, "Sakura are you ok?" he asked in a concerned voice.

Sakura stopped bawling, which Naruto thought was a good sign, but then she looked up at him with fury in her eyes he had never seen before.

"NOOO! I'm NOT OK, and it's all your fault! My Sasuke hates me now, and it's all because of you, you worthless piece of sh-" but she didn't get to finish her sentence.

Hinata's rage had finally gotten the best of her after all this time, and she connected her fist right into Sakura's jaw which sent her flying back, and breaking her jaw as well.

Sakura looked up holding her jaw in pain, but what she saw scared her shitless, Hinata was standing right over her with her bykugan activated with a look of furious anger that would send any man running for their life, unluckily for Sakura though, she couldn't feel her legs to run, and was visibly trembling with fear.

Hinata looked at her with anger and fury that she had never felt before, "The only worthless piece of shit around here is you Sakura! You stupid bitch! Naruto has only been nice as he could be to you ever since he met you back at the academy, he never once said one word that was mean or insulting to you! Yet you ignored him and treated him like a stepping mat that you wipe your feet on! Then after all this time, after all the horrible things you said and did to him, he still has enough kindness in his heart to ask you if you are ok, and what do you do!? You blame him for everything just like you always have! The only worthless piece of shit around here is you Sakura! And now I'm going to kill you!" She yelled as she lunged at Sakura, Sakura let out a scream of fear, bracing herself for death…. But it never came.

When she looked up, Naruto was standing over her, hugging Hinata. Hinata still looked furious though, but couldn't seem to move, not because she couldn't, but because she had become paralyzed because of his hug.

She looked at him with anger, "Why did you stop me Naruto!? She deserves it!" Hinata yelled.

"No, she doesn't Hinata." Naruto said in a calming voice.

"What!? What do you mean!? After all those horrible things she said to you, you don't even care? Why!?" She asked furiously.

"Because she just doesn't…. please calm down Hinata, I've never seen you like this… it's…. it's frightening me a bit." Naruto said pleading.

Hinata looked at him with regret seeing how she had made him sad, and quickly calmed down.

"I-I…..I'm sorry N-Naruto, p-please…. please forgive me." She asked pleading.

Naruto just looked up and smiled, "There's no reason for you to be sorry Hinata, you've done something that nobody has ever done for me before… Care." He said smiling at her, "Just don't ever scare me like that again…. I like this Hinata a lot better."

Hinata turned a bright shade of crimson; he liked her for who she was… just like she liked him for who he was.

"I-I'll try my best N-Naruto" she said smiling.

"That's all I want, and can ever ask for." He said smiling back with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes, which sent a chill down her spine.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He said as he grabbed Hinata's hand which made her turn even more red, as they walked away.

"Wait! I have a question." Sakura yelled, it hurting to even talk due to her broken jaw.

Naruto and Hinata stopped.

"I'm listening." Naruto said in an unfamiliar cold voice.

"I…..I just have to know… Why'd you stop her? Why'd you save me?" Sakura asked confused.

Naruto took a deep breath and sighed, then looked her straight in the eyes.

"Because you're not worth it….. I use to think that you were… but now I know the truth, I have been so blind over the years but now I finally see clearly….. And unless you ever change you'll never be worth it to anyone else…. Especially not Sasuke… I hope one day you do." Naruto said as he took Hinata's hand again and finally walked off to try to meet up with Kakashi sensei.

Sakura didn't know what to think…. She finally realized just how mean she had been to him. His words really stung her, and made her feel like nothing….. like she wasn't worth it…

Sakura was so confused; she just didn't know what to do, So she did the only thing she could do.

She cried.

Little did she know that over in the shadows there was figures watching over her and laughing their heads off.

"Haha, this is gonna be easier than I thought, that's one down and we haven't even done anything yet!" Chili said smirking evilly.

"Don't get so confident yet, she's the weakest of all of them, so her loss won't affect them much." Haku said.

"Haku's right, but I still can't help but laugh, at the poor girl. What a pitiful ninja." Zabuza said still laughing a bit.

"Should we go ahead and kill her?" Cress asked, licking his chops excitedly at the thought of killing her.

"No, she's in the spot the next team will be in next, if you kill her here they might suspect something is up if any proof is left. Besides, I think she will make for a good distraction for you guys when they do appear." Zabuza said grinning through his mask.

"Hmmm, your right… she will make for a rather good distraction indeed… then we will have plenty of death to feed us brother." Cress said licking his chops again.

"Yes, we will indeed." Chili said.

"Alright, you guys know the plan then; we'll be off to take care of Kakashi and his brat's then."

"Alright Zabuza, try not to die." Chili said smirking.

"Don't worry, we won't." Zabuza said confidently as he and Haku took off to the bridge, for the final showdown…

**Author's Notes:**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please Read and Review, your opinions mean a lot to me :)**

**Next chapter will of course be the big showdown, can't wait to write it and get it up for you guys to read. Should have it out for you guys soon, so watch out for that!**

**Until next time, peace!**

**- Riley**


	7. Chapter 7: Demons

**Disclaimer: Naruto is a great manga/anime, but sadly, I don't own it.**

**"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" means time skip/character point of view change.**

**This chapter is a fairly large one, so sorry if you don't like long chapters, I just thought it was necessary for this chapter. I did make it into two parts, but not two chapters though, as it just didn't feel right to do that. I hope you all enjoy it.**

**Now, on to the story.**

**Chapter 7: Demons**

Kakashi was surprised at how far away Sasuke had gotten, he had thought that he had only gotten a little distance away when he took off after him, but he surprised him with just how fast he really could be when he got furious. It was nothing Kakashi couldn't easily keep up with of course, but it was impressive for a rookie genin indeed.

Kakashi was just about to use a little more effort and catch up to him, but then he sensed Sasuke had stopped and was right up ahead. When he reached him, he was sitting on a log in front of a river, with a look of fury on his face just as strong as when he had left.

He slowly walked over to him and sat down. They sat there for about a minute, just sitting and staring at the stream of water as fish swam by, but then surprisingly, Sasuke broke the silence.

"Why do girls have to be so stupid….." he mumbled angrily.

Kakashi had an amused look on his face, "That's a good question Sasuke…. One I've never been able to answer myself." He said as he chuckled a bit.

"Sakura though…. She's even worse than all the other girls combined, which is saying a damn lot." Sasuke said grinding his teeth together.

"Maybe…." Kakashi said staring at the stream of water, as a fish suddenly jumped up and plunged back in, "But, have you ever stopped to think why she says all those annoying things Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke looked at him confused, "I don't know, I guess because that's what she is, annoying?"

Kakashi chuckled a bit, "No Sasuke, that's not it at all."

"Then what is it?" Sasuke asked a bit agitated.

Kakashi looked at him and sighed, "It's because she wants your attention Sasuke."

But this just confused Sasuke even more, "What do you mean?"

"Is it really that hard to understand? You know she likes you Sasuke, she's obsessed with you, when she got picked to be on your team she almost fainted with joy. She really likes you, so she wants you to notice her, that's why she says all those annoying things, because she wants you to notice her Sasuke. She wants you to like her just like she likes you, yet all you've done is ignore her. That's why she said she loved you today Sasuke, you just kept on ignoring her so it was the only thing she could think of to say to get your acknowledgement. She didn't mean any harm, or to be annoying by saying it Sasuke, you've got to understand that, she's your teammate, and you really hurt her feelings saying what you did. I know she can be annoying, but like I just explained she's only doing it because she likes you." Kakashi said in a serious tone.

Sasuke just stared at the water; he had never really understood it until just now after Kakashi sensei had explained it.

'That was why she was so annoying!' he though, yet it still didn't explain something…..

"I…I think I understand." Sasuke said, "but….. I still don't understand why she's so mean to Naruto, I mean I don't like the guy either, but all she did all week was constantly say bad things to him, and for some reason it really made me mad and aggravated me."

"Sasuke…." Kakashi said taking a deep breath, "The reason she was so mean to Naruto was the same reason she was being so annoying to you. She wants you to notice her, and approve of her, so when she saw you being mean to Naruto before, she took it as a cue that if she was mean to him and hated him too then you might start to like her. That's why she was so mean to him; she just wanted your approval Sasuke." Kakashi said sternly.

Sasuke looked at him with a bit of shock on his face. 'Sakura had only wanted his approval all along? That's why she had been so annoying and mean to Naruto…..?' Sasuke thought with a kind of mad look on his face, not at Sakura though, at himself.

"Wow….. I've really been dumb huh sensei…?" He said a little sadly.

Kakashi just looked at him and grinned, "Don't sweat it Sasuke, when I was your age girls were just as big a mystery to me as they are to you now. Girls are very complicated creatures… That's why their actions might not always seem like they are from good or smart intentions… plus, I sorta kinda had some help in figuring it out." He said smiling.

Sasuke raised his brow at him, "She….. she told you all that didn't she?" Sasuke said crossing his arms.

Kakashi laughed a bit, "Yeah, pretty much." He said grinning, "I asked her why she had been so mean to Naruto after the first day of training, and she basically told me all that."

Sasuke chuckled a bit, "And here I was thinking you were a ladies man…. You're just as clueless as the rest of us."

Kakashi smirked, "You don't have to understand women to be a ladies man Sasuke…. Plus understanding women is something no man can ever hope to achieve." Kakashi said faintly sighing.

"Ha, you've got that right, Naruto has a better shot at becoming hokage then that ever happening." Sasuke said smirking back.

"What'd you say Sasuke!?" a familiar voice said, as suddenly Naruto and Hinata appeared in front of them, Naruto wearing a angry face, and Hinata looking like she was blushing. Kakashi noticed why when he saw Naruto was holding her hand.

"Ah Naruto, I was wondering when you'd get here. I see you've become better friends with someone too I see." Kakashi said smirking a bit.

Hinata instantly knew what he was implying, and instantly became as red as a tomato, which was starting to become her normal look nowadays. Naruto just looked at Kakashi and wondered what he meant, then he finally saw what he staring at, them holding hands.

Instead of looking embarrassed though, Naruto just goofily smiled, "Oh yeah, your right sensei, me and Hinata aren't just friends anymore." He said with a grin.

This almost made Hinata about faint with joy, 'D-Did he really mean that?' She thought to herself.

Kakashi and Sasuke both raised their brows in surprise.

"Really?" Kakashi asked shocked.

"Yeah Kakashi sensei, me and Hinata aren't just friends now….. We're Best Friends! Right Hinata?" Naruto said smiling.

Hinata was disappointed, but didn't let it show on her face, she thought maybe he'd say they were actually girlfriend and boyfriend now, but she knew that was to good to be true, and for now she was happy just being his best friend.

Hinata looked up and smiled, "Right!" she yelled happily, but couldn't help but show a little bit of disappointment.

Kakashi face-palmed, 'He's even more clueless than Sasuke about girls….' He thought sighing, 'I swear, if that girl didn't love him so much he'd probably die alone he's so clueless…..'

Sasuke just huffed and mumbled "Loser." Underneath his breath.

"So are we ready to go…..? We're already running a little late." Naruto asked, eyeing them kind of weirdly because of their reaction to him saying Hinata and him were best friends.

"Yes…. But where is Sakura? Was she still to upset to come?" Kakashi asked concerned.

Naruto's froze as he remembered Hinata attacking Sakura and breaking her jaw, and them leaving her there crying. He knew he couldn't tell his Kakashi sensei that, it would probably make him furious.

"Uhhhhhh… Yeah….. you could say that." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head laughing nervously.

"What do you mean? Kakashi said raising his brow because of how nervous he seemed to have gotten.

"That she was to upset to come sensei….. I think she'll be ok….. I promise that's it!" Naruto said starting to sweat, he looked over at Hinata and saw she looked a little nervous to.

Kakashi eyed them suspiciously, but decided not to ask questions, he didn't expect she would come after Sasuke had said that anyway.

"Alright then, let's get going, we need to hurry, like you said we're running a little late and I really don't feel like dealing with Kurenai's rage…."

"Ha, I don't blame you; she can be pretty evil, especially when she's mad." Naruto said chuckling a bit, as they took off at a faster pace then usual, trying to get there as fast as they could so they didn't have to face Kurenai's wrath.

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Kurenai was tapping her foot impatiently, 'Where are they?' she asked herself as she looked at her watch. 'It's 1:20 p.m., they haven't been late this whole week, which is really weird considering Kakashi has been teaching them. I hope nothing has happened….' Kurenai thought a little bit concerned. They had been meeting in the middle of town all week to switch, so leaving the bridge builder alone for more than 20 minutes was starting to worry her as well.

Kiba and Shikamaru were pacing back and forth about looking rather impatient and annoyed to. This whole week had been a drag for both of them, Kiba had tried talking to Shikamaru and getting to know him better, but he wasn't really much of a good conversationalist. He didn't really seem to have much of an opinion on anything, and would much rather just stare at the clouds then talk.

Kiba had to say he was impressed with Shikamaru's skill as a ninja though, for someone so lazy and unmotivated he really had some fancy moves. He was rather fast, and even though you couldn't tell it from looking at him, he was very very intellectual, and a great strategist. Kurenai sensei had them spar every day after they would switch with Kakashi's group, and he would kick Kiba's butt almost every time. His shadow possession jutsu really worked well for him against Kiba, because most of his attacks were close ranged, plus it didn't help the whole forest was covered in trees which casted a lot of shadows. The few times Kiba would get a hit on him he would always win though, because after that he would just say 'This is to troublesome for me' and walk away and sit down to watch his clouds again. It really made Kiba mad when he did that, but it was typical Shikamaru for you, always half-assing everything, so Kiba just ignored it, and so did Kurenai sensei. There's no telling how strong he could be if he actually tried, it almost scared Kiba to think about it, but it also made him wanna get stronger as well.

Just then to everyone's joy Kakashi and his group finally made it, they all looked a little winded, like they had ran the whole way here as fast as they could.

Kurenai eyed them suspiciously, "Hello Kakashi, it's about time you got here, you know better than to keep me waiting, you better have a good reason." She said sorta annoyed.

Kakashi looked at her with a bit of fear, holding his hands up in defense, "Sorry Kurenai, we just lost track of time, and had a bit of a problem with Sakura and Sasuke, but everything should be fine."

Kurenai still looked a bit agitated, but accepted his excuse, "Alright, that doesn't sound like complete bullshit so I'll accept that." She said as she started smiling. "You really need to lighten up to Kakashi. I thought you were gonna shit your pants there for a second, it's not like I was gonna kill you or anything." She said laughing.

Kakashi looked up at her and surprisingly grinned, "Well you're a scary woman when your mad Kurenai, your students seem to know this pretty well." He said as he pointed at them and they all nodded their heads nervously in agreement.

"Ha, well if they think what they've seen of me so far is scary I can only imagine what they'd think if they saw everything I've done in the past, huh Kakashi?" she said smirking.

Kakashi looked up and gave his trademark smile, "Yes, I'm sure they'd definitely think even more before making you mad." He said as they both started laughing.

Kurenai eventually stopped laughing though, and looked up and noticed something she hadn't before.

"Hey, where is Sakura anyway? I hadn't noticed she wasn't here before." She asked confused.

"Uh, well lets just say the problem we had with her and Sasuke made her rather…. upset. So she decided to stay behind at the training area. I hope it's not too big of a hassle or anything."

"Oh, no it won't be a problem." She said, and then looked up at him and frowned, "I just can't believe you'd leave her there all upset though, but I guess you think I'd be better fit for helping her through it, huh Kakashi?" she said smiling.

"Errr, you could say that." Kakashi said rubbing the back of his head.

"HEY!" Kiba suddenly yelled from behind Kurenai, making them all turn around to look at him.

"Are you guys just gonna sit there all day and talk like lovebirds, or can we finally get going!? I'm tired of waiting!" Kiba said yelled impatiently.

Surprisingly this made both of them blush a little at his remark, but Kakashi quickly composed himself before anyone could notice it behind his mask.

"Ummm yes…. I think we should get going." Kakashi stammered.

"Yeah…. Let's get going guys…." Kurenai said looking a bit nervous. Before she and her group left though, she quickly smiled at Kakashi which he returned before they took off to the training area.

Naruto looked around confused, all though the others hadn't seen it, he saw his sensei blush at Kiba's statement, he couldn't tell if Kakashi did because he had his back to him, and because of his mask he always wore.

'Does Kurenai sensei like him…..? No…. that can't be it, Hinata blushes all the time when she's around me, and she doesn't like me like that….. Unless…' Naruto thought, as he quickly turned to look at Hinata, she saw him staring at her and quickly started blushing, and then he turned back around.

'Nah that can't be it, we're just friends….. At least I don't think she likes me like that….. I can't see why she would, I mean she's beautiful, why would a girl that pretty like me… Wait, I think she's beautiful? When did I ever think like that? I mean I've always thought she was pretty, but beautiful? I've never really thought about her like that till now… Maybe….. maybe I should.' Naruto thought, as he looked down at his feet deep in thought.

"Naruto." He heard a familiar voice call out to him, which instantly brought him out of his deep thought.

"A-Are you ok? Kakashi sensei and Sasuke are already gone to the bridge, I-I saw you were just standing here, so I came to check on you, you seem a little dazed." Hinata asked concerned.

Naruto blushed a little, "Y-Yes, I-I'm fine Hinata" he said stuttering a little, as she caught him off guard.

Hinata looked at him strangely, "Are you sure? You're acting a bit weird."

"Yes… I'm fine Hinata, come on… let's go" he said as he smiled.

"Ok, let's go catch up" she said as she returned his smile, and they took off.

It didn't take them long to catch up, and then they followed behind them until they finally reached the bridge, when they got there they were relieved to see everything was still going smoothly, and that they looked like they were almost done.

The bridge was a fairly simple stone bridge, but what it hoped to accomplish was much bigger of course. The workers were hard at work, with sweat dripping down their faces and their backs. Luckily the wind was blowing a cool breeze, so that made it a little more bearable.

Tazuna looked up from his spot when he saw them come in and smiled.

"Ah, glad you guys could finally join us; I was starting to get worried there for both of us when you guys hadn't shown up at your normal time."

"Yes, well we're here now so I hope you can excuse us for being late, we just had a bit of an issue, but it's been mostly resolved now though." Kakashi said.

"Well I'm glad, the bridge it almost done now and it's all thanks to you guys. This week hasn't been very exciting, but if it wasn't for you guys taking out Gato's assassin's before we got here it all would have been for nothing anyway, so thank you." Tazuna said smiling happily.

"No need to thank us yet, it's not over till the bridge is finished completely." Kakashi said.

"I suppose your right, but I can't see him attacking us now, but it is good to always be cautious in a situation like this. I guess that's what makes you guys ninjas." He said still smiling, "Well I better get back to work, hopefully we can have a party or something tonight when it's all over." He said as he started to walk away to get back to work

"Yes, maybe we shall." Kakashi said as he turned around to face his group.

"Alright then, same plan as always, but try to be on your guard more than usual today. I have a feeling that if they are going to strike it would be now, so no lollygagging, I need you all at your best today, got it?" he said in a serious tone, they all nodded at him in understanding.

"Yeah we got it Kakashi sensei; no way they'll get past us!" Naruto said confidently.

Kakashi smiled, 'He's always full of energy, even after getting totally drained today, him and Sasuke both look completely re-energized and ready to go. They amaze me.' Kakashi thought proudly.

"Well alright then, let's get into positions then." Kakashi said, as they took their normal positions for the day.

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Ten minutes had only passed, and Naruto could already feel that something was different. The salty sea air was usually peaceful to him, but today it was the complete opposite. It gave him a chilled feeling every time he breathed that almost made him shiver, almost like it was choking him. The sea surrounding them was calm, but almost to calm as the water just seemed to sit as still as possible, looking like you could even walk on it, and the quietness of the whole area was scary. Usually he could hear and see people going about their daily lives everyday they had been here, but the streets were empty today, and there was no noise at all, just complete eerie silence. Like everyone knew something bad was going to happen, and stayed inside to hide.

He looked at his teammates and saw they looked a bit spooked as well, and that they must be thinking exactly what he was thinking as well. This wasn't normal at all, they all knew something was up, but none of them knew quite what it was.

Kakashi pulled a kunai knife from his pouch, "Be on your toes." he said whispering.

Everyone heard it though, and pulled a knife out to, they normally wouldn't be able to hear him whispering like that, but at the way things were now, you could hear a pin drop.

They all looked around cautiously, observing every little detail, nothing was moving though, everything seemed fine, but at the same time it didn't. The wind was blowing a chilling breeze that seemed to freeze them solid, none of them could seem to move at that moment. Then suddenly the air filled slowly with mist, slowly getting thicker every second.

Kakashi knew immediately who it was, he couldn't believe it though. 'No, it can't be him, he's dead!' Kakashi thought, as he quickly turned to his teammates.

"Everyone, get into position behind me now!" He yelled, as they all quickly did as he said, and got behind him ready for anything.

"Tazuna, you and your men go into the hiding place just like we planned, and hurry!" Kakashi yelled.

"Right, Come on men lets move!" Tazuna yelled as they all went running to a secret manhole they had built on the bridge, just incase this happened so they wouldn't be in the way.

They frantically looked around, trying to figure out what was going on, when two figures slowly made their way towards them. When they finally appeared within their sight, Kakashi and Sasuke both were shocked.

When Hinata and Naruto saw them they gulped. They didn't know who they were, but they definitely didn't look like good news.

One of them started laughing an evil laugh that could rival even Kurenai sensei. After a few seconds he finally stopped, and looked at them grinning, evil in his eyes. He looked like a demon.

"You look surprised Kakashi; you really think you could have tooken me down so easily huh? They don't call me the demon of the hidden mist village for nothing you know." Zabuza said smirking evilly.

"I-I saw the hunter-nin kill you! How is it your still alive!?" Sasuke asked confused.

Zabuza just looked down at the boy and smiled, "Yes, you did, or so you thought you did little boy."

"What do you mean Zabuza!?" Kakashi said looking at him angrily.

Zabuza just laughed at him, "It's so simple Kakashi, I thought someone as smart as you would have been able to figure it out by now, I guess I was wrong about you." He said as he stopped laughing, "Can't you see, the hunter-nin didn't kill me, she actually saved me. The hunter-nin, or as I call her, Haku, watches over me incase I ever get into a life or death situation. So when she saw I was defeated she just simply made it look like she had killed me so that we could walk away with you all thinking I had died. What a pity to, because now you're the one who is going to die today Kakashi, along with all your little genin brats, and of course the bridge builder." Zabuza said staring at them evilly.

What Kakashi did next surprised Zabuza though, he smiled at him.

"I must say, that was quite clever Zabuza, you had me fooled from the beginning. I see that that same hunter-nin is with you now to." He said laughing, making both Zabuza and Haku angry, "Thing is…. It still won't make a difference." Kakashi said confidently.

Zabuza looked at him furiously, "Over confident as usual, huh Kakashi?"

"No, not over confident, I'm just being realistic." Kakashi said arrogantly, which made Zabuza even angrier, "I destroyed you last time we fought, what makes you think this fight will be any different huh? Just because you brought one of your little helpers this time won't change anything, the result will still be same. Just face it Zabuza, you can't win." Kakashi said confidently, which instantly made his team go from cowering in fear to filling them with confidence.

"Yeah!" Naruto yelled, "Your nothing to us! You might as well run away now while you still have the chance!" Naruto said, which made Hinata and Sasuke even more confident.

Zabuza looked furious at first, but then to their surprise, he started laughing again, very evilly.

Zabuza smirked, "You overconfidence is what will destroy you Kakashi and your little team of genin, Haku isn't just another one of my helpers as you would say, Haku is even stronger than me! You're the one who doesn't stand a chance Kakashi!"

Kakashi was shocked by his words, "You're bluffing!" he yelled gritting his teeth.

Zabuza smiled, "I'm not, but instead of just arguing and telling you, how about we demonstrate, Haku you know what to do."

"Yes, master." She said in a cold voice.

As soon as she said it though, she was gone from view completely. Everyone looked around frantically, but couldn't find her.

"Where did she go!?" Naruto yelled, but then he felt someone grab his arms and hold him back.

"Right here." Haku whispered as she put a kunai knife to his neck.

Kakashi and others looked at her in shock, 'She's so fast, I couldn't keep up with her movements at all! I should have gotten my sharingan out earlier when I had the chance damn it! Then I might have been able to.' Kakashi thought.

Haku then moved like the speed of sound again, and arrived next to Zabuza again. With Naruto in her arms still with a kunai knife to his throat.

"Naruto!" Hinata yelled out. "Let him go right now!"

Zabuza laughed, "We will, but for a price…"

Kakashi looked at him angrily, "What do you want!?" he yelled out.

"Isn't it obvious Kakashi? You see, unlike what we said at first, we don't actually want to kill you at all. We may be demons, but we aren't really all that bad. All we want is the bridge builder, if you step aside and let us kill him then we won't kill you and the boy will be returned unharmed. If you don't though, we will slice his throat open right now, and let you watch him suffer as he dies a painful death, and then we will do the same to each and everyone of you. Do I make myself clear?"

Kakashi looked confused, unsure of what to say or do, he couldn't just let them kill Naruto, but he couldn't let them kill the bridge builder either. If he let them kill Naruto just because of some mission he could never forgive himself though. He had lost too many teammates in his lifetime, and he didn't want to loss another, not today, not ever. He hated to let an innocent man die, but he just couldn't let Naruto die. He was just about to tell them he could have the bridge builder, when suddenly Naruto started laughing.

Zabuza looked at him furiously, "Why are you laughing you little genin brat? Do you want us to kill you!?"

Naruto stopped laughing, and smirked at him, "I'm laughing because you guys are bigger idiots than I thought."

Everyone was confused by his words, when suddenly he poofed out of existence, and several shuriken came straight at Haku as soon as he disappeared. She moved as quickly as she could, but three of them still ended up striking her, hitting her shoulder, upper thigh, and arm.

Naruto finally fell down out of the sky next to Hinata and Sasuke grinning, "You thought you had me didn't you! I disguised myself as a shadow clone as soon as the mist started coming in and have been hiding ever since, and you guys feel right for it! I've said this before and I'll say it again, don't ever underestimate me! Believe it!" he said courageously.

Kakashi, Hinata, and Sasuke couldn't believe it though; they were shocked by Naruto's intelligence. He may not look like it or even act like, but he really was smart, at least when it came to battle strategizing anyway.

"Way to go Naruto!" Hinata finally yelled after getting over her shock.

Naruto just looked back and gave her a thumbs up.

Zabuza was raging with anger though, as Haku pulled the last shuriken out, he yelled out, "Very impressive, for a genin to learn a jutsu like that is very impressive indeed! But now you've angered me! Not only that, but you've walked right into our trap as well, and we didn't have to lift a finger! You had your chance to take the deal and live, but now you've blown it, and now you and your friends will die right in front of your eyes you little brat! Haku you know what to do!" He yelled out furiously.

Haku nodded, "Right." She said as she started making hand signs.

Kakashi with his hitai-ate now raised with his sharingan out, tried to copy her movements, but just couldn't seem to. Then it suddenly hit him, 'She's using a kekkei genkai!' he thought shocked.

Kakashi then knew exactly what Zabuza meant when he said they had walked right into his trap. "Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, you have to get away from each other right now!" he yelled, but it was already too late as Haku finally finished her hand signs.

"Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors!" she yelled as suddenly many mirrors started forming around the three genin, surrounding them in a wall. Haku quickly went over and entered one of the mirrors after it was done before Kakashi could do anything.

Zabuza started laughing, "It's over for them now Kakashi! Haku's secret technique is unbeatable against anyone, even you! Your three little genin don't stand a chance now, you can only hope she gives them a fast and painless death now, instead of slow and painful one, I doubt she will though." Zabuza said smirking with evil in his eyes.

Kakashi looked up at him strangely calmly, "I thought you said not to be overconfident Zabuza, if there's three genin that can beat your precious little Haku it's those three. I believe in them, they will beat Haku, I just know it." He said proudly.

"You really believe that Kakashi? If you do then you're a fool!" Zabuza said angrily.

"The only fool here today is you Zabuza, and since it's just me and you now I think it's time I showed you why!" Kakashi yelled in anger.

"You really think I showed up without a plan Kakashi? This was all part of my plan to begin with! To get me and you alone so I can have the satisfaction of finishing you off myself!"

"Big words from someone who couldn't even land a finger on me last time we fought, lets see what you got then."

"Fine, you will regret those words though." Zabuza said as he started making hand signs.

Suddenly all the fog surrounding the area seemed to thicken even more until Kakashi couldn't even see in front of himself.

"Is this your plan Zabuza? To hide? If you were just going to do that you might as well not have even came." Kakashi said agitated.

"Arrogant as ever Kakashi, now I'll make you pay!" Zabuza yelled through the fog.

Kakashi then felt a knee connect right to his chest and a kunai land right into his shoulder he quickly tried to compose himself and attack, but he was gone again into the fog.

Through the thick fog, we was barely able to make out many shuriken heading his way. Using all his speed he was able to dodge most of them, but one of them did connect with his ankle, causing him to wince in pain as he tried to pull it out.

'How is he doing this?' Kakashi thought, as he finally got the shuriken out. 'I should be able to see where his attacks are coming from, but I can't see anything because of this fog…. Oh no… That's it!' Kakashi thought shocked.

He then heard Zabuza laughing out in the mist, "Finally get it Kakashi? I knew from our last fight I couldn't win in a straight fight against you. Your damn sharingan let's you see everything I do, sometimes before I even do it. I knew I couldn't match that, but then I thought, 'What If he can't see me, if he wouldn't be able to see me, then he can't mimic me.', and then it hit me, if I could get fog this thick to where you couldn't see me, then your sharingan would be useless! Can't you see Kakashi, it's over now, for you and your little genin brats! Your days as the famous Copy Ninja are over!" he yelled, as he kept laughing.

Kakashi then gritted his teeth in frustration, he couldn't see a thing, and Zabuza's laughter was just making him angrier. He had really done his research this time, he was still confident he could beat him, but he needed to think, and fast.

A pair of kunai knives was then sent right at Kakashi, he tried to dodge them, but it was too late. One of them hit his shoulder, and the other his chest. He fell to the ground in pain, as he tried to pull them out.

'This doesn't look good for me…. I just pray the others are holding up better than I am right now…' Kakashi thought concerned about his students.

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A wall of mirrors suddenly formed all around Naruto and the others. They had tried to run when Kakashi sensei had told them to, but as soon as they started moving the mirrors formed all around them, forming a wall that was impenetrable.

The air turned cold very fast, they could see each other's breaths and they all started shivering a little. The fog started thickening as well all around them, so thick that it almost choked them. Naruto tried punching through one of the mirrors, but his punch didn't even leave a scratch, he kept punching and punching but it wouldn't budge at all.

Naruto looked around frustrated, "What the hell is this!?" he yelled.

"I don't know…. but this isn't good… not good at all." Sasuke said with fear in his voice.

Suddenly Haku formed on one of the mirrors, Haku laughed at their scared faces, "You all look like you've just seen death, don't worry I'll make that a reality for you all very soon." She said with an evil smile on her face.

They all looked up at her, shivering with fear, and then she was gone.

They all looked around frantically trying to find her, but then they all felt a large knee to their stomachs almost simultaneously. They all fell to the ground gasping for air, when they finally recovered; they looked up to see Haku in one of the mirrors laughing with one of the evilest grins they'd ever seen.

"Don't you guys see, my speed is way beyond anything you could ever hope to keep up with, and with my crystal ice mirrors you can't even touch me. I could kill you right now, but where's the fun in that? I think I'll just make your death very slow and painful, until you beg for mercy at my feet." She said, as they all looked at her with looks of pure terror on their face.

Naruto couldn't feel his legs, 'Is this it? Is this the end for me?' he thought as he looked over at his teammates.

Sasuke and Hinata were both trembling with fear just like he was as well, except they looked like they had it even worse, especially Sasuke.

Sasuke couldn't breathe, all the air around him was to terrifying to even suck in right now. It was like his whole body had shut down with fear, he couldn't control anything. He…He couldn't stand it, it was killing him from the inside….. this….. this girl….. she wasn't just any girl…she was a demon! He had to get out…. He had to get away from her, he didn't care how, all he knew was he had to get away.

Sasuke then realized what he had to do, he slowly reached into his kunai knife, and he slowly raised it to his neck, his hand shaking with fear. He had to kill himself… he couldn't…. he couldn't take it anymore!

Naruto and Hinata both stared at him with fear, knowing what he was going to do. They wanted to tell him no, to stop, but they couldn't find the words. They just couldn't.

Haku laughed, "What weaklings you truly are, to scared to even breathe. Just look at the poor Uchiha boy, he's petrified, so scared that he's actually going to kill himself. Your fear satisfies me but…. I need more…." She said evilly as she reached into her pockets, bringing out needles.

She then threw one right at Sasuke, and it hit the kunai knife in his hand, right as he was about to slice his throat. She wasn't going to let him die yet, not without a little more enjoyment.

She then threw three more needles right at Sasuke, hitting him in just the spots she was aiming for. Not enough to kill him, but to cause great pain.

Sasuke hit the ground screaming in pain, and he started to cough up blood. Naruto and Hinata both watched in fear, still unable to move.

Haku just laughed again behind Sasuke's screams of agony, "You guys really are pathetic, at least make this fun, if you don't move you'll just die a slow and painful death, but I suppose you guys realize that either way you'll die. What a pity, I thought leaf shinobi were better fighters, but I see now that all you guys are is cowards." She said with a smirk on her face.

Naruto stood there, as he watched Sasuke screaming out in pain. He never liked Sasuke, he actually hated everything about him, but he couldn't just sit here and watch him die. He wasn't what she said he was, he wasn't a coward! Yet here he was standing there just watching him die, and if he didn't do something soon he and Hinata would die to….. No… He wouldn't let that happen! He had to do something, he had to move!

Naruto felt it, he could feel his muscles finally relax, he had to do this, he had to win. Not only for him, but for his friends, he couldn't let them down, not now, not ever!

Haku just stood in the mirror looking impatient, "If you guys aren't going to do anything, then one of you dies!" she said as she hurled her needles straight at Sasuke.

Sasuke braced himself for death, almost accepting it, happy it was coming to save him from this place.

But it never came…..

Sasuke looked up and saw Naruto standing over him, with needles all in his back. He…. he had saved him… but why?

Naruto slowly started pulling the needles out of his back, not showing any pain on his face, and a look of determination on his face, as he turned to look at Haku.

"My…My name is Naruto Uzumaki…. So far I've been acting like a coward, afraid of death… but that's not me. I'm not a coward, I won't just sit here and let you take my life and my friend's lives away! I have a dream, someday I will be hokage! I will accomplish this dream, and to accomplish this goal I know I have to kill bastards like you!" Naruto said furiously.

Hinata and Sasuke both stared at him like he was crazy.

'H-how can he still have so much confidence in himself…. Can't he see it's impossible!' Sasuke thought.

'I-I wish I could have as much courage as he does… I really do.' Hinata thought sadly still unable to move.

Haku looked at him and smiled, "Well, I'm glad to see one of you has a little fight in you, this should make things interesting finally."

Naruto looked at her furious, "Oh yeah! We'll see how interesting you think it is when I kill you!" Naruto said as he made his familiar hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he yelled as the whole place was suddenly surrounded by Naruto's.

They all then jumped right up, heading straight towards Haku. As soon as they did though, they all poofed and Naruto hit the ground hard face first.

When he looked up he saw Haku standing in the same mirror as before, smirking at him.

"Stupid boy, can't you see an attack like that won't ever work on me, I'm so fast I can take them all out in an instant. It doesn't matter how many shadow clones you make, I'll just destroy them instantly just like I did right then, it's hopeless!" she yelled.

Naruto just looked at her and smiled confidently, "I don't care how many times it takes, I will beat you!" he said as he did his familiar hand sign again, and summoned his clones again ready to fight, they all took off after Haku, but the result was the same. Hinata and Sasuke both watched in horror as each time Naruto would get up and summon his clones again, only to have them all defeated, and him hitting the ground again. They gritted their teeth each time, wishing Naruto would just stay down, but he didn't, he got right back up and kept trying, panting heavily more and more each time he hit the ground in pain. Sasuke and Hinata both wished they were outside in the forest training right now, instead of in this hell, as they watched Naruto getting crushed. Little did they know that in that very forest right now, things weren't much better…..

**Part 2: Demons**

Kiba was walking bored out of his mind, on their way to the training ground, he knew today was gonna be just like every other day. Shikamaru would either beat him silly, or he'd give up after Kiba nailed one punch on him. Kiba certainly wasn't looking forward to it, but glad it was the last day, and he wouldn't have to deal with this anymore.

As they got closer to the training ground, Kiba felt something strange in the air, like somebody was watching them. Akamaru then sniffed the air, he picked up a faint smell of something odd, they both weren't sure what it was, but it certainly didn't seem good.

"I have an odd feeling about this… stay on your guard boys; I think we are going to have a fight on our hands." Kurenai said as both boys looked at her confused for a moment, but then nodded.

Kiba wasn't confused by her words, just confused that she had sensed it to. She was a very strong jounin though, and had very good skills at spotting out a trap. Plus the forest was almost like home to her, so anything unusual that happened in it she would be able to sense.

Shikamaru also had the feeling they were being watched, and Kurenai's words just confirmed it. 'This is going to be such a drag.' He thought to himself, as they kept walking.

When they finally got there they found Sakura in the middle of the forest, looking very sad, and like she had been crying. The forest was very oddly still, not a single leaf was blowing in the wind, and everything was quiet, like the whole forest was asleep, the only thing they could hear was Sakura's weeps, it was very eerie.

"Stay close to me." Kurenai whispered to them, and they all nodded. They didn't know exactly what was going on, but it certainly didn't feel good.

Kurenai and her group walked up to the weeping kunoichi. Kurenai wanted to be concerned about her and try to help her, but with what was going on at the moment she it was very hard.

"Sakura, are you ok? What happened to your jaw!?" Kurenai asked in a concerned voice noticing the bandages all around her jaw, but still staying alert to her surroundings.

Sakura looked up with red eyes, startled a bit, "Ku…..Kurenai sensei, I-I didn't even see you guys come in…. My jaw…. It…. It got broke today during training." She lied, as she cringed remembering Hinata punching her with as much fury as anyone she had ever seen her whole life. She couldn't tell them that though, not only was it embarrassing, but it was all her fault anyway.

Kurenai looked at her with an understanding look, and nodded. She knew she wasn't telling the complete truth, but she wouldn't pry into things she didn't want to tell her.

"I-I'm sorry you have to see me like this…. A ninja shouldn't be crying like this." She said wiping the last tears from her face.

Kurenai then put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "Don't worry about it Sakura, I know whatever Sasuke had said to you made you really upset. You have to realize that you are still a young genin, not only that, but I was the same way about boys when I was your age too." She said chuckling a little bit.

"R-Really?" Sakura asked surprised.

"Well yes, there was this one boy I always liked when I was about your age too, but he never returned my feelings either… and still doesn't." she looked at the ground with sadness in her eyes, but she quickly recomposed herself and looked at Sakura with a serious face, "After a while I finally learned he never would, and I was just wasting my time trying to get someone to love me the way I loved him. That's why you can't let whatever Sasuke says to you effect you this way, you may think that because he hates you it's the end of the world, but it's not, and I really doubt he truly does. He was just upset, and really you have all the reason to be upset with him too. He has ignored you ever since you met him; all because of his one goal in life, to kill his brother and avenge his clan, a guy like that doesn't deserve your attention Sakura. He only has enough room in his heart for one person at the moment Sakura…... himself. Do you understand what I'm saying Sakura?"

Sakura looked at the ground trying to absorb everything she had said. She loved Sasuke, but she didn't deserve someone that just ignored her, and thought she was annoying. She deserved someone who actually likes her for herself…..

That's when it hit her, she had treated Naruto just the same way Sasuke treated her, except even worse. Not only did she ignore him, but she made fun of him and mocked him. She finally realized just how mean she truly had been to the one boy who actually liked her….. for her. She wanted to cry, but she wouldn't, she had cried too much today, and she just wouldn't allow herself to cry any more, not this time.

She looked up at Kurenai sensei with a sad face, but nodded that she understood what she meant.

"I… I understand now." Sakura said as her sad face turned to a smile. Kurenai smiled back at her proud she had seemed to finally figure it out.

"I'm glad, but that doesn't mean to give up on him completely, although I said I did, I really actually never did…" She said sadly, "Plus Sasuke always has the chance to change, he still just a young boy, maybe one day he will understand just how much he means to you" she said smiling.

"I…I hope so to… Thank you." Sakura said happily smiling, as Kurenai smiled back at her as well.

Little did they know, that out in the woods two figures were watching over them closely.

"Look at them, trying to make the pink haired girl feel better….. It disgusts me." Chili said irritated.

"Yes, but it gives us a good distraction just like we wanted…" Cress said smirking, "I think it's time we went for the kill…."

"Are you sure brother? This move will use almost all of our chakra, and destroy nearly everything?" Chili asked.

"Yes…. I'd rather get this over with then wait, so let's just finish them off now." Cress said, as Chili nodded and they both started forming hand signs.

Kurenai could feel something out in the forest building chakra up, and a lot of it. Although she had been focused on her conversation with Sakura, she had also been

Observing the forest closely, searching for anything that was out of the ordinary, and this chakra spike certainly was. She knew something bad was about to happen, and she knew she had to act quickly.

"Everyone! Grab hold of me! Don't ask questions just do it!" She yelled urgently, as Kiba and Shikamaru quickly did as she said, but Sakura just sat there confused, but then as Kurenai yelled at her again she quickly did as she said. Kurenai just hoped that little lost time didn't cost them.

"Water Fire Style Combination: Two Headed Dragon!" The two elemental brothers yelled from the depths of the forest.

Suddenly the whole forest filled with a large two-headed dragon made of fire and water heading straight their way, destroying everything in its path. It quickly surged through the forest leaving a large open area where the forest had been destroyed, and leaving many trees on fire and some toppled over, as the surviving animals started to take off into the distance, away from the destruction.

Cress and Chili both jumped into the open smiling evilly at their chaos.

"That worked like a charm, there's no way they survived that!" Chili yelled out confidently.

Cress had a neutral look on his face though, He felt strange, like it hadn't killed them for some reason. He knew there was no way they could have dodged that attack, but he had a weird feeling in his chest.

"For some reason I don't think it was enough brother. Somehow I think they survived!" Cress said looking around cautiously.

"What!? What do you mean? We completely annihilated this whole area; there's no way they could have dodged that attack!" Chili yelled.

As soon as he said that though, a barrage of shuriken and kunai knives came swarming their way out of the forest. Cress was able to see them though just in time and dodge them, but his brother had not, as he was hit in the body many times. Bleeding heavily now with at least 20 shuriken and kunai knives in him.

Cress looked up to see him brother on the ground in pain, choking up blood. He tried to get up to go help him, but as soon as he did a kunai knife was sent straight at his brother's forehead, killing him instantly.

Chili hit the ground with a thud, as Cress looked on in horror, as his brother died before his own eyes.

Cress finally felt the strength to look up, when he did he saw the people he thought they had just killed standing there in the open smiling.

"You….. You killed my brother!" Cress yelled in anger.

"Yes, just like how you tried to kill us. Your brother didn't deserve any better treatment from us, just be glad we didn't make him suffer, he died quickly so there wasn't much pain." Kurenai said in a serious tone.

"How… How did you survive! There was no way you could have!"

Kurenai laughed, "You really think we didn't know you were out there hiding? Even my genin students had recognized something was up. If you guys weren't such bad Shinobi's you probably would have gotten us. I just simply grabbed onto everyone as soon as I saw your chakra rising, and did my earth style teleportation technique, and absorbed everyone into the ground. I must say, your attack did impress me though, it must have token quite a lot of chakra to make such a strong attack. I'm sure you're completely worn out now." Kurenai said smirking.

Cress looked at her with anger, but knew she was right; they had almost put all of their chakra into that attack of theirs. It was a high risk, but high reward attack, but if it failed it was almost useless to keep fighting after that. There was no way he could win now, not against a jounin alone, plus her genin brats, but he'd rather die before he ran away, he wouldn't let his brother's death be unavenged.

Kurenai looked at him smiling, "Just give up, you know you can't win. There's no reason to throw your life away!"

Cress had a look of frustration on his face, but it quickly changed to a look of evil. He still had on more trick up his sleeve. He looked around, and saw exactly what he was looking for, the weak little pink-haired kunoichi. He might not be able to kill them all, but he wasn't about to run away, or go to jail. He would rather die, and he would be taking that little pink haired brat with him.

Cress smiled, "You think I'll just hand myself in right after you killed my brother? You're dumber than I thought Kurenai. You underestimate my abilities, and for that I'll make you pay!" He said as he jumped back a little.

"Water Style: Ice Darts Jutsu!" he yelled as ice darts stormed out of his hands and headed straight towards them.

They all jumped out of the way; as fast as they could, little did they know they had done exactly what he wanted. Sakura had jumped to the left with Shikamaru, and Kurenai and Kiba had jumped to the right.

Cress ran at her with as much speed as he could muster, with an evil look on his face.

Kiba saw this and instantly knew what he was going to do, "Run Sakura!" Kiba yelled.

But it was too late; Cress grabbed her by her hair and held her up as he grabbed a long kunai knife from his belt.

"Let go of her right now, or you will die!" Kurenai yelled furiously.

"Hahahaha! You think I care if I live or die? I don't give a shit at all! And if I'm going to die, then I'm taking one of you with me!" he yelled as he slammed his kunai knife right through Sakura's chest, coming out the other side of her back.

"Nooooooo! Sakura!" Kurenai yelled out.

Cress just laughed, "Pitiful ninja like her deserve to die Kurenai, I was just doing her a favor by killing her."

"You… You'll pay for that!" Kurenai said with anger in her eyes. Just as she was about to run at him with all her might and anger and destroy him, Sakura suddenly poofed into a log with the same kunai knife in it.

Kurenai, Kiba, and especially Cress stared in shock.

"A…..A Substitution jutsu!" Cress yelled.

"That's right!" Sakura yelled from the forest as she threw two kunai knives right at him, he was unable to move away in time as the two kunai knives landed both right in his feet. Nailing him to the ground.

"AHHHHHH!" he yelled in pain as he hit the ground.

"Now Shikamaru!" Sakura yelled.

"Right." Shikamaru said stepping up, "Shadow Possession Jutsu." He said almost too casually for the situation they were in. As a shadow protruded from him and headed straight towards Cress, he tried to move, but his feet were pinned to the ground. He screamed in agony as the shadow finally reached him….. it was over.

They all started walking right up to him, all with a smile on their face.

"You…. How did you do that! You're just a weak kunoichi! There's no way you could have tricked me!" he yelled in frustration.

Sakura just smiled, "Like a certain blonde haired boy has always said….. Don't ever…. Underestimate….Me!" She yelled proudly, as all her teammates smiled.

Cress just looked at them with anger in his eyes as blood came out of his mouth.

Then he remembered something that instantly brought a smile to his face.

Kurenai eyed him curiously, "Why are you smiling? Are you happy to die or something! If so I'll be glad to give it to you!" She said madly as she pulled a kunai knife from her pouch.

Cress laughed, "No, it's not that. You see, you may have won this battle, but I doubt your other friends are doing nearly as well as you are right now." He said with an evil grin.

"What!? What do you mean!?" Kiba yelled furiously.

"I mean your friends are probably all dead now you little brat! They are facing two shinobi's whose powers are much greater than even mine and Chili's ever were! I bet you right now all three of your little genin friends are dead, and they are both finishing up Kakashi as we speak! All of this was for nothing!" he said laughing evilly.

They could all feel the anger build from inside them. Their whole attack had just been a distraction from the start! Just so that they wouldn't be able to help their other teammates!

Kurenai had never felt so mad in her life, as she looked at Cress with a look of death all over her face, as she pulled her kunai knife back she shoved it right into the laughing man's heart, then pulled the blood soaked kunai out as his blood spewed everywhere.

They all looked at her with a look of shock on their face, but also understanding. They had all wanted to do the same thing to him anyway.

Kurenai pulled the dying man's shirt up so she could look at him in the eyes, his face covered with his own blood.

"I hope you enjoy death, as much as I enjoyed giving it to you, you motherfucker." She said coldly as she slammed her kunai knife right through his head, killing him instantly, just like his brother.

She pulled her kunai knife, and looked at her team with a serious face, "Come on! We have to get moving before it's too late!" she yelled urgently, as she took off as fast as she could, her team following right behind her, determined to get there as fast as they could, and hopeful that they were all ok.

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Kakashi could hear the screams of his students from inside the wall of mirrors. Every time he heard it made him cringe with anger. For the past 15 minutes he had become Zabuza's prey, running away like a rabbit would a fox every time he would attack.

He had a jutsu he knew could kill Zabuza, and just end it right now, but if he used it he would be almost out of chakra. And if Haku won, or if he could find a way to help his students, he would be almost useless to them without his chakra. He'd rather die then take that chance, so he just kept running, hopeful and praying they could somehow pull it off.

He had many wounds now from where Zabuza had hit him from either shuriken or kunai knives, but none of them were very serious. He had done well to protect his vital organs, and had done his best to dodge every attack as soon as he saw it coming. He tried attacking each time, but Zabuza would just simply disappear again into the mist before he could even lay eyes on him.

He could hear Zabuza laughing through the mist, "What's wrong Kakashi? Are you finally realizing that you can't win, and your precious little genin brats are going to die? What a shame, I thought you'd put up more of a fight, I have to say I'm impressed by your running away skills though. You've done well to survive this long, but you won't be alive much longer, I can guarantee you that!" he said as he threw another barrage of shuriken at him.

Kakashi saw them coming and was able to dodge all of them this time. He was starting to get tired though, and he couldn't keep this up much longer.

'Please let them be ok.' He thought, as he dodged another round of shuriken.

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Naruto was panting heavily, he had been getting hit and failing every time he had tried to attack Haku, each time getting up and trying again only to be knocked down even harder each time. He was determined though; he wouldn't let this demon beat him. He had to somehow give his teammates confidence, he needed their help to win this, and this was the only way he knew how.

Sasuke and Hinata watched him as he kept getting up and trying over and over. Hinata was almost in tears, she couldn't stand to watch him getting pummeled to death, but she just couldn't seem to move. The whole area was suffocating her and Sasuke, it felt like they were dying from the inside out. Yet Naruto just kept getting up, not a bit of fear in his eyes, just pure determination.

"Why won't you stay down you little blonde haired brat! Can't you see it's hopeless!?" Haku yelled as she took off again, destroying all his clones, and knocking him down even harder this time.

Naruto hit the ground hard, as he coughed up blood. He barely had any chakra left. It was a feeling he wasn't use to because he almost never ran out of it because of his large reserves. He had used the shadow clone jutsu at least 20 times now, he only had about 5 left in him, and he had never felt so worn out in his life. He thought about taking his weights off at first, but decided against it, it didn't matter how fast he was, he couldn't hope to match her speed, not how he was right now anyway. But he couldn't give up! He had to keep trying!

Naruto slowly pushed himself up off the ground, his whole body covered in blood.

"I'll never give up! Not while I still have breathe in my body!" he yelled as summoned his clones yet again, as they jumped up after her.

"Fool! Then I'll just have to take that breathe away from you then!" she yelled as she destroyed all his clones again, and this time giving a kick to the real Naruto that she put all her power into. Sure it would at least knock him out, if not kill him.

Naruto hit the ground with a large thud, as he his body made cracks into the pavement, and blood spattered everywhere.

Sasuke and Hinata both looked on in horror, not sure if he was dead or alive.

Hinata finally felt her voice and legs again, "N-Naru…NARUTO!" she yelled as she ran over to him.

Haku smiled, 'So the Hyuga brat finally has enough courage to move now to, guess that'll make things more interesting now that the blonde haired boy is out of the way.' She thought to herself pleased.

Tears were welding up in Hinata's eyes at Naruto's body sitting there covered in blood. Before she could reach him though, he miraculously picked himself up off the ground once again, shocking everyone.

"W-What! That's impossible! Why won't you stay down!" Haku yelled furiously.

Naruto just looked up at her and smiled, "Because…. Because….. I won't lose….. Not to you… I….. I have a dream… to become the greatest hokage…. and nothing will ever stop me from achieving that dream….. Not even you!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke looked at him with respect for Naruto he had never felt before. He always thought he was just a loser, a wannabe ninja, who just did and said things to get attention. But Naruto was more than that; he had proved it this whole week when he had worked just as hard as he did to climb the tree, and when he actually beat Sasuke at climbing it first. He hadn't really realized it till now though, Naruto was really a true ninja, and Sasuke was just the wannabe ninja all along who was to scared to even move from fear…..

'No….' Sasuke thought, 'I…. I have a goal too….. I'm not just a wannabe ninja who says empty words….. I'm more than that! I will kill my brother one day! I will avenge my clan! I can't let this be the end for me! I have a dream just like Naruto, and I won't let anyone take that away from me! I won't ever be a coward again like I was before when I let my whole clan die before my own eyes! I won't ever let that happen again, Not now, and not ever!' Sasuke thought furiously, as he felt a new wave of confidence rush over him that he had never felt before, as he activated his sharingan, his clan's greatest gift.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled, as he jumped up again at Haku, this time not knowing if he'd live or die.

"Naruto! Noooooo!" Hinata yelled, knowing he was on the verge of death.

Haku growled in anger, "Fine! If you wanna feel the sting of death you stupid boy, then I'll be glad to give it to you!" she yelled as she took off again destroying his clones.

Sasuke could see Haku's movements now, just barely, but it was enough, he knew which one was the real Naruto too. He knew he had to do something, the next hit could kill him, and he couldn't and wouldn't let him die.

Haku destroyed all the clones, and only one Naruto was left, she smiled as she realized this was the real Naruto, she appeared right in front of him with an evil grin on her face.

"It's over for you now!" she said as she brought a kunai out of her pouch. "You die now!" she yelled as she shoved the kunai right at him.

Naruto braced himself, knowing this is where it all ended, where he died….. but it never came. When he looked up he saw Sasuke in the air floating over him. Holding Haku's hand, with the kunai inches away from Naruto's face.

"What…..That's Impossible!" Haku yelled as she tried to free herself from Sasuke's grip.

"Naruto, now!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto instantly knew what he meant, and acted quickly. He grabbed hold of the kunai and pulled himself up into the air above them. Positioning himself just right to land his special move he had been working on right in Haku's face.

Haku tried to move out of the way, but Sasuke's grip was to strong, she did the only thing she could think of hoping it wasn't to late, as Naruto's foot came crashing into her face.

"Uzumaki Barrage!" he yelled as he sent her straight into the ground, crushing her face into the bridge's gravel, leaving her body lifeless.

Naruto jumped up from the ground in celebration, "Yes! That was great Sasuke! We did it!" he yelled, and then suddenly hit the ground from pure exhaustion.

Sasuke and Hinata both laughed happily. The boy had tried so hard just like he always did, and it was because of him they had won, he truly was something.

"We did it….. We really did it Naruto." Sasuke whispered to himself.

Hinata looked at Naruto happily. He had saved them once again, he really was a hero, but then she noticed something that made her puzzled.

"Guys…. Why aren't the mirrors gone?" Hinata asked confused.

Naruto looked around from the ground, and so did Sasuke. She was right; the mirrors were still there just like they were before.

"I…I'm not sure… No…. It can't be… that's impossible!" Sasuke yelled, as familiar laugh started up again in the background.

Haku's lifeless body suddenly turned into water, as she reappeared again on one of the mirrors evilly grinning.

"No….. You're….. You're dead!" Sasuke yelled out.

Haku just laughed, "Did you really think you could take me out that easily? This whole place is like a playground to me. I can easily swap my body at anytime with water, and with all the mist, and the ocean nearby, I can do it so fast you don't even notice it. Can't you see now, you really have no chance against me!" she yelled furiously.

"I must say though, I was impressed by you Uchiha. Your sharingan really is something, and I let my guard down completely, thinking you were still petrified. That mistake won't happen this time, and now I'll kill all of you!" she yelled in anger.

They all looked on in terror, as she pulled multiple needles out of her robe, and started throwing them at them.

Naruto was helpless, as he watched his teammates getting hit by the needles, he could hardly move his head, let alone get up to help. Hinata now had her Bykugan on now, which was helping her dodge them, and Sasuke had his sharingan which was helping him too, but it still wasn't enough, because at the speed she was throwing them she would still end up hitting them every now and then no matter how hard they tried.

Haku eventually stopped after about a minute, Hinata and Sasuke both were panting heavily.

Haku grinned, "I think it's time to stop playing around." She said as she disappeared.

Haku then appeared right in front of Hinata with an evil grin on her face, so fast that it left Hinata no time to react, and with a swift kick to her stomach, knocked her out unconscious.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled from his seat on the ground, trying to move, but just couldn't.

Haku picked her off the ground by her jacket, "What a precious little girl….. I could kill her right now, but I think I'd rather wait until I'm finished with you two." She said as she jumped back into a mirror smirking, as she dropped Hinata on the ground.

"Y-you demon!" Naruto yelled out coughing up blood in pain.

"I may be a demon, but I'm not doing this just for me, but for someone precious to me. His goal was to kill the bridge builder, but you got in our way. I didn't want to kill you, but now you leave me no choice!" She yelled furiously.

"Why would you serve someone like that? Can't you see all he does is use you for his own gain like a slave!" Naruto yelled out furiously.

"Shut up you insolent brat! You know nothing about how he treats me! He's the only one who's ever cared about me ever since I was a little girl! His dream is my dream, I live for him! And his dream is for you to die, so I will make it come true right now!" she yelled in fury, as she started a new hand sign.

"Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles of Death!" she yelled as suddenly needles came out of the sky, heading straight towards Naruto.

Naruto braced himself, for what he knew was his last seconds of his life. He wasn't scared though, almost embracing it, knowing he died a ninja. Yet… the pain never came once again.

Naruto opened his eyes in horror; Sasuke was standing over him, his whole back covered in needles. He was crying… yet… they seemed almost like… like happy tears.

Naruto started to cry as well, confused, "Wh…. Why Sasuke?"

He just looked at him and smiled, "I….. I don't know…. My body just seemed to move….. and because….. because you did the same….. for me."

Naruto stared at him in disbelief, the same boy who was his greatest rival. The boy who he had thought he hated more than anyone in this whole world just this morning had just saved him… it… it just didn't make sense.

"But….. But you had a dream Sasuke… and you threw it all away for me? Why!?" Naruto asked the tears building up.

Sasuke just kept smiling, "Yes… I had a dream, but so do you Naruto…" he said as he started to cough up blood. "Naruto… just promise me… just promise me one thing."

Naruto looked up at him the tears starting to come down even harder.

"Promise me…. You won't die here…. And you'll accomplish your dream. I….. I wasn't able to accomplish mine, but maybe….. just maybe you can for me one day as well as your own…. My brother Itachi… He killed my whole clan…. I promised myself one day I'd kill him… One day I'd redeem my clan…. Promise me… You'll kill him…. For me…." Sasuke said tears rolling down his face.

Naruto looked at him confused, tears rolling down his face as well, but quickly nodded, "Yes, Sasuke….You have my word!"

Sasuke smiled "T-Thank….. You….. Naruto….. You really are… a true ninja…..." Sasuke said as he fell to the ground, as the life in his eyes seemed to fade away.

Naruto stared at his lifeless body in disbelief, he just couldn't believe it… He was…. He was dead.

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled as he fell on top of him, and started crying uncontrollably.

Haku laughed hysterically from the scene, "What a pity, he had such great potential. To bad he was just too weak to survive, giving his life for a worthless brat like you. It's about the stupidest thing I've ever seen!" Haku said as she continued her laughter.

Naruto froze; he felt something inside of him he had never felt before. It felt evil, yet it also felt right, it was pure rage.

A voice called out to him in his mind he had never heard before, 'Take my power… Use it….. Kill her for what she has done to you…. Show her your true power!' it yelled out to him in a very evil voice.

The power was right there for him to take it. It felt wrong to take it, but right then Naruto just didn't give a damn. He would kill her for what she had done; he wouldn't let any more of friends die today! She would pay.

Naruto reached out and took this power, as he heard a laughing voice in the back of his mind, but he ignored it. He was only focused on one thing….. Killing that demon.

Haku was still laughing, when suddenly red chakra suddenly started surrounding the boy's body all over. His nails grew long, and his eyes changed from blue to a dark and menacing red. His whole face seemed to become more animal like as it filled up with anger, as it was sketched all across his face.

"What is this red chakra!? Where is it coming from!?" She yelled out, "He shouldn't even be able to move! This doesn't make any sense!" she yelled frustrated.

Naruto's muscles started bulging from his body, as his weights he still had on broke off to the ground because of it, as they fell to the ground with a large thud. He looked up at her with death written all over his face.

Haku was shaking all over; his face was the most frightening thing she had ever seen in her whole life, it was the purest anger and rage she had ever seen. She had to compose herself though she told herself; he still couldn't beat her, she couldn't let Zabuza down; there was no way she would let that happen.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Naruto yelled as he took off after her in a speed that left a mark on the ground every time he took a step because of the sheer power.

Haku was barely able to move to the next mirror in time, before he came crashing through, breaking the mirror to pieces as he punched it ferociously.

'That's impossible, You can't break my mirrors! The strength required for that is way beyond anything a genin…... even a jounin couldn't hope to muster up that much power!' she thought, as she barely dodged another one of his attacks, as he busted another mirror.

He came running at her again, but this time she didn't have enough time to move out of the way again, and his fist came straight through the mirror, busting it to pieces and knocking her out of it.

The mirrors faded away, as she slowly got herself up after the devastating blow. Naruto was right on her though, and picked her up by her shirt.

Haku looked at him with fear, his anger and hatred all over his face, "Y-You….. You're a demon!" she yelled out in pure fear.

"No…. the only demon here is you." He said coldly, before bringing his fist back and punching her with so much force it made a hole right through her chest.

He dropped her to the ground in a lifeless heap. He had done it, he had won. Yet….. for some reason he felt even worse then he had before. His horrifying powers suddenly left his body, and he dropped to the ground unconscious, as he heard the same voice he had heard before of the one that had given him these powers, laughing in the back of his mind.

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Kakashi and Zabuza both watched on in shock, as Naruto killed Haku right in front of them, and then dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Haku!" Zabuza yelled.

Kakashi just smirked, "Looks like your Haku wasn't all she was made out to be huh? Now it's over Zabuza!" Kakashi yelled with pride and confidence.

"You… You and all your little genin will pay dearly for killing Haku! Especially the blonde haired Brat! YOU WILL ALL DIE!" He yelled furiously from with his fog.

"No Zabuza, it's over now, I've just been playing around with you this whole time, waiting just incase they needed me, or I needed my chakra against Haku. But now it's over and it's time to finish this!" Kakashi yelled out.

"You're…. You're bluffing Kakashi!" Zabuza yelled in disbelief.

"No…. I'm not Zabuza, now prepare to die." Kakashi said coldly, as he started making hand signs and then he bite his thumb.

"Summoning Jutsu!" he yelled, as he hit his hand on the ground.

"What are you doing!?" Zabuza yelled, but as soon as he did something grabbed onto his legs, as seven others grabbed onto the rest of his body. Zabuza tried to get free, but he just couldn't, whatever it was held him in place firmly, he couldn't go anywhere, and he could feel his fog jutsu starting to clear up.

The fog finally cleared up after about twenty seconds, revealing Zabuza held by Kakashi's dogs.

"What is this Kakashi! Let me go!" Zabuza yelled frantically.

Kakashi just laughed, "Don't you see Zabuza, I had you beat from the beginning. I realized soon into our fight that my eyes wouldn't work, I started to panick, but once I composed myself I knew just the jutsu to solve our little problem. So it actually wasn't you who was toying with me, it was me toying with you all along! Now it's all over, and now you die!" Kakashi yelled angrily.

"You should consider yourself lucky to, your going to be one of the few that actually gets to see one of my one original attacks…. The chidori!" He yelled, as he started to power up his attack.

Zabuza looked at him knowing he was defeated, and that this really was the end. He looked over at Haku's lifeless body on the ground, and felt a pain in himself he had never felt before as he started to cry. He had never gotten to tell her he was sorry, that he loved her, he had never got to make up the mistakes he had caused in her life, and he hated himself for that.

"Chidori: Lightning Blade!" Kakashi yelled as his jutsu had reached full power and he sped off towards Zabuza as fast as he could.

Zabuza looked at him bracing himself for death. He could only think of one thing to say in that moment.

"I'm sorry… Haku." He said right before Kakashi stuck him right in the chest with the chidori, putting a big hole through it, as he feel to the ground, and Kakashi's dogs poofed out of sight.

Kakashi looked over him, "It's over…. It's finally over." He said sighing, as he hit the ground on his knees from exhaustion.

Right then Kurenai and her group had finally made it, and what they saw horrified them.

There was blood everywhere they looked, and a lot of damage to the bridge. There was kunai knives and shuriken everywhere. The worst thing was everyone was on the ground either unconscious or dead, they weren't sure which yet. The only one still up was Kakashi, who was on his knees and had many wounds all over his body.

Kurenai and her group ran up to him as fast as they could. Kakashi looked up and sighed with relief, he was glad they were here, as his team and himself really needed help.

"Kakashi! What happened!?" Kurenai asked in a panicked tone.

"Zabuza….. he wasn't dead….. and he brought help this time. We were able to defeat them though….." Kakashi said in a weak voice, he was very tired.

"Is…. Is anyone hurt!?" Sakura said almost too afraid to ask.

"I….. I don't even really know yet….. The fight had just ended when you arrived."

They then all looked around, Naruto and Hinata both seemed like they were breathing, but both looked like they had been through hell, but what Sakura and the others saw next made them all gasp.

Sasuke was sitting there with his whole back, arms, and legs covered in needles….. and he didn't look like he was breathing…

"Sas….Sasuke…" Sakura said in a fearful voice.

"SASUKE!" She yelled as she ran over to him, hoping and praying he was still alive.

**Author's Notes**

**Phew, what a chapter, this one was just about twice as long as usual. I hate to end it on a cliffhanger like that, but had to end this chapter somewhere, and that seemed like the right place.**

**So, Is Sasuke really dead, or is he somehow alive? Even I'm not sure yet….. I hope you all enjoyed it though, and of course, please Read and Review. Your opinions mean a lot to me.**

**I have to say I was happy with all the reviews I got last chapter. It really made me motivated to get this next long chapter out there for you guys. I also really appreciated all the advice and suggestions about my writing I got from you guys, and am going to try to improve in those areas, so thanks again.**

**Next chapter I'll be finishing up the First Mission Arc as I like to call it, and they all finally get to go home, and of course we find out about Sasuke….. I hope to have it out for you guys soon, so watch out for that.**

**Until next time, peace.**

**- Riley**


	8. Chapter 8: Dreams and Determination

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, I'll let you all know when that changes.**

**All the 'X's' still mean the same as before as in previous chapters, just a quick reminder.**

**Yup, just a regular size chapter this time, although technically this is my second longest chapter in terms of words though. Hope you guys enjoy it either way.**

**Now, on to the story.**

**Chapter 8: Dreams and Determination**

"SASUKE!" Sakura screamed, as she ran as fast as she can over to him, praying he was still alive.

She fell down on her knees next to him. His body was motionless, his heart wasn't beating, and he wasn't breathing.

She stared at him in horror, to scared to even move, let alone touch him. All she could do was stare at him in as he just sat there completely lifeless.

The others quickly came up from behind her, as Kakashi sensei put a hand on her shoulder, and Kurenai kneeled down next to Sasuke as well. She started making hand signs, and when she was done the needles that covered Sasuke slowly and carefully started to come out of him. As the last needle was removed Kurenai rolled Sasuke over carefully, and started checking for any signs of life… but there was nothing.

Kurenai's hands started to glow as she tried to heal Sasuke's wounds and try to save him. She wasn't the best medic-nin or anything, but she did know a few medical ninjutsus she had learned just incase things like this happened, she could only pray it would be enough.

She went over Sasuke's wounds many times, but it didn't seem to do anything, his wounds were closing up, but he was still just as lifeless as before….. No…. it was to late….. he….. he was dead.

Sakura looked on with tears starting to fill her eyes, as Kurenai suddenly stopped, and her hands stopped glowing as well. She looked at Sakura with sadness in her red eyes, as she slowly shook her head.

"I'm sorry….. I did all I could, but….. it…it was to late… he's dead."

Sakura looked at her in disbelief, "No….. Sasuke…Sasuke can't be dead…. He can't be!" She yelled as the tears started to roll down her face.

Kurenai just looked at her with regret, wishing her words were true, "I'm sorry Sakura… I truly am."

Sakura looked at her and then at Sasuke. No matter how hard she looked at him, he just kept sitting there, completely motionless as his hair and clothes blew in the wind. She finally found enough courage to finally touch him, as she put her hand on his chest, it was true….. there really was no heartbeat, he really wasn't breathing, he really was dead. That's when it finally hit Sakura…. Sasuke was dead, he really was….. and he wasn't coming back.

She fell on top of him, as she started crying hysterically. She had never cried this hard in her entire life, and every time she did cry, her heart would break even more from the sting of reality that he really was dead. She felt cold and alone, like she was in a dark empty prison cell, the boy she loved was really gone, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Kurenai and Kakashi both put their hands on her shoulder, trying to comfort her, but they were both filled with sadness as well. Kiba and Shikamaru both stared at the scene, both trying to hold back tears as well.

Kiba never really liked Sasuke, but he never wanted him to die, not like this. Just thinking how upset Sakura was only made him fill up with more sadness.

Shikamaru just stared at them, unsure how to feel. He had never really cried in his life, but this was different, this was his teammate, he may not have liked him but he was still his teammate. Shikamaru knew that even if he had been there it might not have made a difference, but he couldn't help but be filled with regret, knowing that if he had been there, then there was a chance Sasuke could still be alive.

Tears started to fill his eyes; he tried wiping them away, but more just seemed to fill right back up. Shikamaru wasn't one for regret, he didn't regret anything! So why did he feel this way! Why was he crying over something he couldn't control!? He just didn't understand it.

Kiba put his hand on his shoulder, Shikamaru looked up at him confused, and trying to fight back his tears, but Kiba just smiled. "It's ok to cry man, he was your teammate and I know you cared about him…. I know your not one to cry, but it's alright man, just let it out, just let it all out." Kiba said, as a couple of tears started to escape his eyes as well.

Shikamaru looked at him confused, but nodded in understanding, as he started to just let it all out. It was a feeling he wasn't use to, and it felt horrible, but at the same time it was relieving. Like something he had been holding in his whole life had just been released.

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Sasuke's eyes slowly crept open as he got up slowly from the ground, "Wha….What is this place…..?" Sasuke asked confused.

He was in a very dark and cold place, the ground looked like water, and dispersed like water every time he took a step, but it was as solid as concrete. He looked around and all he saw was complete blackness that seemed to stretch on forever. He could see his breathe every time he breathed; it was ice cold, almost like in his fight with Haku, except it was even worse now.

That's when it hit him, hadn't he died against Haku? If he had then why was he here then? He was sure he had died; he remembered his last breathe as he looked at Naruto and fell to the ground, as Haku laughed evilly and coldly in the back of his head. It made him shudder just thinking about that demon, yet this place seemed even worse, Haku was evil, but the evil that this place seemed to be surrounded with… it….. it was pure evil.

'You failed Sasuke….. you failed everyone….. you're nothing but a failure.' He heard in the back of his mind. He looked around frantically trying to figure out where the voice had come from, but everywhere he looked all he saw was pure darkness….. until he saw it. It was a tiny light off in the distance, the light….. it made him fill with happiness the second he saw it, he wasn't sure why or how, but his feet just seemed to take off towards it on their own free will.

He kept walking towards it, growing happier with every step he took, the light was pure joy to him. As he finally got a few feet from it, it took a shape… sort of like a mirror. As Sasuke stared at it, a shape quickly took form inside the mirror into a little boy… he wasn't sure who it was at first, but then after looking hard he saw it…. it was him, when he was a little boy, back when he was as happy as he had ever been in his whole life, and probably ever will be again.

Sasuke stared at himself in the mirror with a smile, the boy smiled back at him, as two forms then reappeared right next to the boy….. It….it was his mom and his dad. They appeared right next to Sasuke in the mirror, as they put a hand on his shoulder smiling back at him. Sasuke's form inside the mirror then changed into himself, his current self. Sasuke stared in disbelief at the mirror, Sasuke had a smile on his face in the mirror he hadn't had in so many years as his parent's held onto his shoulder, smiling back at him.

Sasuke could feel the tears filling up in his eyes; he knew what this finally was now. This was the end of the road, but also a new beginning. The mirror wasn't just a mirror, it was a portal to the afterlife, and his parent's were waiting for him on the other side of it. He would finally see them again after all these years. Suddenly the smile he saw in the mirror, appeared on his face as well, a smile he hadn't had in forever. He'd finally get to see his parent's again after his brother had taken them away from him so many year's ago.

He slowly walked towards the portal, ready to join them in the afterlife, when a portal suddenly appeared on the opposite side of the other. This portal was filled with darkness however, pure sadness, and pure hatred, and it left Sasuke with that same cold feeling he had back when he first entered this place, except even worse this time, it was so chilling it paralyzed Sasuke from head to toe right in place, mere feet away from entering the portal and joining his parents again.

Then a pair of eyes appeared in the portal, ones that came from a pure demon. Eyes that he had hoped to never see again in his life, but also knew he'd have to see them again one day.

"You're still so weak Sasuke…. It's embarrassing to even call you my brother….. but then again, I haven't seen you as my brother for so long, so why start now." Said a cold and demonic voice from the portal.

Sasuke instantly felt the fear surge throughout his whole body, as the familiar voice and words hit his entire being, it was his brother's voice….. Itachi….. Itachi Uchiha.

The eye's in the portal then seemed to get smaller as a form started to appear out of it, Sasuke filled with even more fear, as the form slowly stepped out of the portal, it really was him, he had the same lines underneath his eye's, the same jet-black hair, the same intense gaze filled with hatred that could make even the most powerful of enemy's tremble with fear, it…it really was him…it was his brother…Itachi.

Itachi laughed at Sasuke as he saw the look of pure fear and shock that covered his whole face, and even his whole being. Sasuke could feel his knees start to buckle at his laughter, it was pure evil.

Itachi finally stopped laughing, and looked down and smiled at Sasuke, "What's wrong Sasuke? You look like you've seen a ghost, I thought you'd be happy to see me after all this time little brother?"

Sasuke could feel tears starting to form in his eyes, not of joy this time though, this time of pure fear and hatred.

Itachi frowned, "Pathetic… look at you, crying like a little baby, what happened to all those words about killing me huh? I should have known they were just empty words, you're just as weak as the day I last saw you." Itachi said coldly.

Sasuke instantly could feel his body start to come back to him again. 'No… I've waited all this time to kill him…. I can't be scared now… I promised myself I'd kill him! Yet here I am standing here in fear like a coward, that's not me, I'm not a coward!' Sasuke thought furiously to himself, as he could finally feel his body again; he pulled a kunai out of his pouch, which sent a chilling smile right onto Itachi's face.

"Ah, I see my words have sparked a little courage in you Sasuke, good….Come at me then, kill me!" Itachi yelled with a smirk on his face.

Sasuke gripped the kunai knife tighter, "Gladly!" Sasuke yelled as he took off towards his brother as fast as he could with pure determination in his eye's as his sharingan seemed to activate on its own.

Itachi just stood there with the same evil grin on his face, as Sasuke yelled, as he shoved his kunai right through Itachi's chest. Itachi dropped to the ground lifeless.

Sasuke stared at him in disbelief, "I…I did it…. I really did it." Sasuke said as he stared at Itachi's body, but that's when he finally saw it….. it was a clone! A kunai was then stabbed deeply right into Sasuke's back, as the clone of Itachi puffed out of existence.

"You were always weak Sasuke…. and you still are." Itachi said coldly as he pulled the kunai out of Sasuke, as Sasuke hit the ground screaming in pain, as blood started gushing out.

Itachi pulled Sasuke's face up to his to look him in the eyes as he grinned evilly, "So it's true, you've awoken your sharingan at last…. It's quite a shame though, even with it activated you couldn't see past the simplest of clone jutsus. You really are pathetic Sasuke." Itachi said coldly, as he pushed Sasuke's head onto the ground.

"Can't you see Sasuke, you never had any hope of beating me, you're nothing but a weak child who could never hope of ever matching me, and that's all you'll ever be. I came here in hope that maybe you had changed, sensing you were close to death, I created this place as a last choice for you of life or death, but now I see you don't even deserve to live, you're just a disgrace to everyone. Now go and join our parents and the rest of our clan in the afterlife, I see now that's where you deserve to be, goodbye….Sasuke." Itachi said coldly, as he slowly walked back into the portal he had come from.

Sasuke slowly got back off the ground, the bleeding and pain had seemed to disappear as soon as Itachi left. Yet Itachi's words still ringed in his head….. he was still just a weak child… he…. he was to weak…...he had failed…..everyone….

Sasuke slowly walked over to the mirror that had filled him up with so much joy before Itachi showed up. He still saw his parent's there with the same smiles they had before, he realized now, he really was a failure, he really was weak, and he could never hope to defeat Itachi.

His parent's slowly reached out of the mirror, Sasuke slowly walked up to them, ready to finally join them in the afterlife. He reached out to them, finally accepting it, he was a failure, and he really did deserve to die.

"No!" he heard a voice yell out, right before he touched hands with them.

Sasuke turned around, and to his surprise, Naruto was standing right in front of him, standing there with a fierce look on his face.

"N…..Naruto….. What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked confused.

"You're not a failure Sasuke!" Naruto yelled out.

Sasuke looked at him shocked, before he shook his head and looked down, "Didn't you see how easy he took me down Naruto! He took me down like I was nothing! I'm nothing to him Naruto! How can I ever hope to beat him, I'd rather just die!" Sasuke yelled out as tears started to form in his eyes.

"Pathetic." Naruto said coldly.

Sasuke raised his head, "Wha…..What?"

"I said you're pathetic Sasuke! Just listen to yourself! This isn't the Sasuke I know, the Sasuke I know would never give up so easily. You had a goal Sasuke, just like my goal of becoming Hokage; to kill your brother, and redeem your clan! Does this mean nothing to you anymore!? If it doesn't then you're not the Sasuke I know at all, and you might as well just give up now just like your brother said, but if you still are the Sasuke I know, if you're still the same guy who I know would never give up, would never give in, and would never quit, then you'll follow me and keep living, and reach your goal just like me!" Naruto yelled, as he ran into the portal Itachi had come from, as Itachi's menacing eyes appeared once again over the portal.

Sasuke stood in shock, unsure what to think. 'I…..I'm right here in front of my parents, so close to them I can touch them, yet…. I can't…. Naruto… Naruto's right, I had a dream. If I go back on that dream then what am I? I'm just a failure just like Itachi said, not just to me… but to everyone… no….. that's not me… I'm not a failure! I promised myself… I promised myself I'd avenge the death of my parent's and my clan! And I won't give up now, just like Naruto would never give up!' Sasuke thought with newfound determination.

Sasuke looked up into his parent's eyes, their hands still reaching out to him.

"I….I'm sorry… mother…. Father….. but I can't join you now… I can't die now. As much as I wish to be with you I haven't finished what I promised to do, and if I ever go back on my word without trying then I'd always regret it, and I'd never be able to live with myself…. I… I'm sorry…. But I have to do this." Sasuke said, barely able to muster up the courage to say that.

His parents hands went back into the mirror, but they didn't stop smiling. "We're glad Sasuke, we're sad we won't be able to see you again after so long, but we understand, and we're both very proud. One day we will see each other again, hopefully not anytime soon though." His mother said smiling.

"Now go out and make us proud Sasuke, just like you have already." His father said as they both looked on smiling.

Sasuke looked up confused at first, but then smiled, "Thank you, I promise…. I'll make you both proud, and when I do finally join you, I promise you both, I'll have accomplished my goal… or died trying."

They both nodded at him, "We'll wait for you Sasuke….. now go…. And accomplish your dream." They both said smiling as they turned around and walked back into the light, holding hands.

Sasuke stared as they both faded from existence, it didn't make him sad though. He would see them again one day, until then he was going to make them proud, and he would never give up again, just like Naruto never would, never.

Sasuke turned around and looked into Itachi's menacing eyes through the portal, but it didn't scare him anymore, if anything it just filled him up with more courage and more willpower.

"Sasuke… you're a failure, you're to weak to ever defeat me, just give up now while you still have the chance." Itachi's voice ringed out of the portal to him.

Sasuke didn't flinch though, "You're wrong Itachi, one day I will defeat you. One day I will be stronger than you, and one day you will die at my hands, and I'll never again give up from this day forward! Believe it!" Sasuke yelled as he smirked, as he used Naruto's favorite catchphrase proudly as he ran right at Itachi's portal, not scare at all ready for anything. He was going to make his family proud, everyone proud, and finally accomplish his goal, and now he was ready.

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Sakura was still weeping hysterically, when suddenly she felt something…. It…..it was a beat. Then it started again, but this time it didn't stop. She was in disbelief at first, Sasuke's heart… it was beating. Then suddenly his body became less cold, and started to warm up dramatically. Then he started to breathe, and suddenly his eyes opened.

"Sa….Sakura…." he said weakly.

Everyone stared in disbelief; the boy who they thought was for sure dead was somehow alive again.

"Sa…Sasuke…you…you're alive!" Sakura yelled in shock and pure happiness.

"I….is Naruto and Hinata ok?" he asked concerned.

"Yes, Sasuke, they're both beat up pretty good, but they're both fine." Sakura said, the happiness and shock still coming heavily out of her voice.

Sasuke smiled, "Good…. And Sakura….."

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"I…..I'm sorry….. you've put up with so much crap from me…I promise though….. I'm going to make it up to you, I promise….." He said smiling, as his eyes drooped and he fell back asleep, this time very much alive though, as he rested peacefully.

Sakura stared at him in shock, 'He….. He was sorry….. and he really meant it.' Sakura thought to herself in disbelief.

The happy moment didn't last long however as an angry voice rang out in the distance.

"So, you guys really are the real deal huh, taking out the four best assassin's money can buy, and living to tell the tale. I see it wasn't easy for you guys though by the looks of it." a short man said in the distance smirking, with many men standing behind him smirking as well.

Everyone turned around, and Kakashi and Kurenai instantly knew who this man was.

"Gato… I should have known you'd show up here, and I must say by the looks of all the men you have I'd say the rumors of you being a total coward were correct." Kurenai said coldly, as she gritted her teeth angrily.

Gato just laughed though, "You think I'm dumb or something? Your words don't affect me in the slightest; I know I don't stand a chance against you alone; coming here alone would just be suicide. So therefore I'm not a coward, just someone who isn't ready to die yet, unlike you who will be dying here very shortly, along with the rest of you!" Gato yelled out angrily.

Kakashi looked at Kurenai and nodded, and then looked back at his group, "Sakura, Shikamaru, Kiba, we need you all to hurry and take Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata back to Tsunami's house as fast as possible."

"What!? No way, you guys need us here!" Kiba yelled.

"Yeah, can't you see how many of them there are? You're going to need our help." Shikamaru said as well.

"Don't worry about us; me and Kurenai can handle them. We are both very strong jounin, not only that, but I'm pretty sure they need your help more than we need yours right now."

"Are you sure Kakashi sensei? You're still hurt pretty bad from your last fight." Sakura asked concerned.

"I'll be fine Sakura, I've been in tougher situations before and came out just fine. So please, don't worry about us and get them to Tsunade's quickly, every second you waste could be their last if you don't hurry." Kakashi said seriously.

"Yes, me and Kakashi will be fine. Now go, and don't think twice about it!" Kurenai yelled.

All three of them looked at each other, but they nodded their heads in understanding, as they went and picked up their other teammates off the ground carefully.

"Just be careful Kurenai and Kakashi sensei… I almost thought we lost Sasuke today…. It'd kill me if something happened to you knowing I could have helped…." Sakura said with sadness in her eyes.

Kakashi smiled, "I'm glad you are concerned Sakura, but we'll be fine, the only ones who should be concerned right now are them. Now go, and don't worry about us."

Sakura smiled and nodded, as the three took off towards Tsunade's house each holding a fallen teammate.

Gato laughed evilly, "That wasn't very smart of you sending them off like that, now this will be even easier."

"Ha, if you think this will be easy then you're even stupider than I thought Gato." Kurenai said smirking and pulling a kunai out of her pouch as Kakashi did the same.

Gato gritted his teeth together, "You're both idiots! Can't you see this is suicide if you even try to fight us! Its one hundred against two, you don't stand a chance. It's not your lives we are after anyway, just give us the bridge builder and be done with it already!"

Kurenai and Kakashi both smirked, "We'd rather die then ever give up and give you the bridge builder Gato. Besides, you may have us out numbered, but you forget we are both highly skilled ninja, and your men are just simple mercenaries. I'm not saying it will be easy, but I like our chances." Kakashi said confidently.

Gato gritted his teeth even harder, "Then you're both as good as dead then! Men… atta….." Gato tried yelling the rest of his command, but a hand quickly covered his mouth.

Gato's eye's almost bulged out of his head when he saw who it was. It….It was Zabuza…

Everyone stared in shock as Zabuza with a hole in his chest and blood still gushing out violently, held his hand over Gato's mouth as he started to squeeze tightly.

Zabuza looked at Gato with pure hatred in his eyes that shook Gato down to his very core.

Zabuza just laughed, "What's wrong Gato, you look like you've seen a ghost." He said in a menacing and low voice.

"Ho….How are you even standing, you're…..you're suppose to be dead!" Gato yelled in shock as Zabuza continued to bleed heavily.

Zabuza grinned, "Let's just say I got tired of hearing your annoying voice, and now….. well lets just say I couldn't let myself die without killing you myself with my own blade." He said coldly, as he began to pull his blade out from his back.

Gato stared at him with frightened eyes as he slowly raised his blade above his head, "Y-You don't have to do this Zabuza!"

"Yes, I do, I may be the demon of the hidden mist village, but I didn't give myself that title. The things you have done to this village disgust me, and the people here suffer every day because of you. I would have killed you a long time ago if you weren't paying me, but now I don't care at all! So now you die!" Zabuza yelled as he swung his sword violently at him.

Gato tried to yell, but nothing came out as Zabuza slung his sword at him and decapitated him as his head fell to the ground, everyone gasped in shock. Blood started streaming out of Gato's now headless body as it fell to the ground with a thud. Zabuza smiled before he fell to the ground as well, barely clinging on to life himself.

The mercenaries stared in shock as Kakashi and Kurenai slowly made their way over to them.

Kakashi cracked his knuckles, "Well, that's just too bad about your employer huh. If you guys still wanna risk your lives over a pointless cause now, then be our guests, but don't expect any mercy." He said coldly, with a grin on his face.

They all looked at them with scared looks on their face, unable to move, except for one brave mercenary.

He stepped out of the rest of the mercenaries, "I don't care if I get no money out this or not! I came here to smell blood on my sword, and I won't leave until my crave is satisfied!" He yelled psychopathically, as he ran towards Kakashi with his sword extended, running with as much power and force as he could muster.

Kakashi chuckled, as he raised his headband from over his sharingan, 'I've been wanting to try this trick out for a while now since I found out I had it. Guess this is a great time to test it out, not the best of opponent though, but it'll have to do.' He thought to himself smiling.

The mercenary was still running as fast as he could toward Kakashi, closing the distance fast. Kurenai thought of killing him herself, as Kakashi didn't seem to be moving, but then she saw Kakashi's sharingan eye suddenly change into a….a wheel.

'It…it can't be…' she thought in disbelief, 'it…..it is….. he's awoken the Mangekyo Sharingan!'

Suddenly the mercenary felt his knees buckle as he stared into Kakashi's eye, and he became paralyzed from head to toe in complete fear. Sweat started to roll down his face as he stared at Kakashi as he smirked evilly through his mask.

'Tsukuyomi!' Kakashi yelled, and suddenly the mercenary felt time slow down, and he passed out. When he woke up he found he had been transported to some kind of abyss. A red moon was over his head, casting am eerie red light throughout the whole area of darkness.

"wh….where am I?" the mercenary thought in shock, as he tried to move only to find that he was tied up to a wooden stake in the ground, unable to move. The abyss left him with a cold feeling throughout his whole body, leaving him shivering.

He heard an evil voice laugh in the distance, "You're in hell my friend…. And you won't be getting out anytime soon."

He was then stabbed right through the chest, as he screamed in pain. This continued on for what seemed like forever, and it was never ending. When it was finally over, his whole soul had been eaten dry.

When it was finally over, he awoke in shock to find only a few seconds had passed in the real world. He fell to the ground, panting and sweating with a maddening look all over his face, unable to breathe.

Everyone stared in shock as the man, who had just been running at them with all his might was now on the ground looking like he had been to hell and back.

"I….I can't take this anymore!" he screamed, as he pulled out his Kunai from his belt and stabbed himself deeply right in the neck, ending his life.

The mercenaries, and even Kurenai stared in shock as the man ended his life. Confused as to what had made the man go so crazy.

Kakashi sighed, he felt sorta bad for making the man go through so much hell before he killed himself. He shoulda just ended it quickly, but he had to test his Mangekyo Sharingan somehow, so he didn't regret what he did, he just felt a bit bad.

He looked up and smiled as he saw all the shocked and frightened faces of the mercenaries.

"Unless you guys all want the same treatment, I suggest you all run away now, and never return to this land ever again." Kakashi said threateningly.

They all looked at him for a moment, but then they all took off like scared dogs with their tails between their legs, as they pushed each other and screamed like frighten children as they ran as fast they could away.

Kakashi smiled as he pulled his headband down back down over his eye, and turned around to look at Kurenai.

"Well, that was easier then I thought it would be." He said as he rubbed the back of his head.

Kurenai just huffed, "Yeah, you must think you're a real badass now huh?" she said mockingly.

Kakashi just gave his trademark grin however though, "Well, I've always been a badass; I just had to show them first before they finally understood." He said arrogantly.

"Hah, your so full of it Kakashi, it's almost sickening." She said giggling, "When'd you get the Mangekyo Sharingan anyway? You've never used it before in the past."

"Well, I'm not really sure when I got it really…." He then looked down with a sad look on his face, "I suppose I got it back when Obito or Rin died….. but I just recently found out I had it…"

Kurenai nodded, feeling a bit of remorse for him. She knew the death of his teammates had been very tough for Kakashi, and not something he liked talking about at all. Her teammates had both died as well right in front of her, so she knew what he felt, so she quickly changed the subject.

"Well it certainly came in handy Kakashi. Anyway, let's go check on the Bridge Builders and Tazuna now and get out of here, they haven't come out of that hole since the fight began. So at least they listen very well, but I'm sure they're feeling a bit suffocated down there."

Kakashi looked up and smiled, "Yeah, I'm sure they are….." he said chuckling a bit, "Plus we need to check on our students, come on, there's no time to waste." He said as Kurenai nodded and they started to walk off.

"W-wait….." a weak voice called out to them.

They both turned around quickly, to see it was Zabuza.

"Zabuza….. Your still alive…" Kakashi said surprised, as Zabuza coughed up a little blood.

Zabuza turned his head to look at them, with blood covering a lot of his face, "I….I have a favor to ask Kakashi…." He said as he coughed up even more blood.

Kakashi looked at him puzzled, "What kind of favor Zabuza? You're almost on your death bed you know."

Zabuza smirked, "Yes…. But this is just a small request…" he said as he coughed again, "I….I want you to move my body… over to Haku… I wish to see her one more time… before…before I die…. Please Kakashi…." He said pleadingly.

Kakashi looked at him confused at first, but quickly understood, "I normally wouldn't do this especially for someone like you, but I'll respect your request Zabuza, but only because you helped us by killing Gato."

Zabuza smiled, "Thank you… Kakashi….." he said as Kakashi picked him up and took him over to where Haku laid in peace and laid him down next to her, he stood next to him as Zabuza spoke his final words, and the life faded away from him. Then he quickly joined Kurenai again as they went over to where Tazuna and the rest of the bridge builders were still hiding.

They opened the hatch as the bridge builders all came out thanking them, and shocked at Kakashi's wounds and the damage to the bridge. Tazuna finally came out last as he looked at the mess that was his bridge.

"Damn, this will require another day or two to fix all this damage now….. Thank you though, I know you all risked your life for us, and for that, I am eternally grateful." Tazuna said sincerely with a smile.

Kurenai smiled back, "Just a day in the life of a ninja bridge builder, our students nearly died trying to protect you and the bridge, so with your consent we'd like to go check on them, and make sure they are ok."

"Why of course! It's not like we can work anymore today after all that happened anyway. Work is canceled for the rest of the day boys! Everyone go home!" Tazuna yelled, as all the bridge builders all nodded happily, glad it was all over, and took off.

"Thank you, now, lets be off then, Kakashi come on."

Kakashi didn't hear her though, as he was to busy off in his own thoughts as he stared at Zabuza and Haku, as they both laid there, both lifeless now.

Zabuza's final words echoed and replayed through his mind, 'Haku…..I…I'm sorry.' He had said as he ran his fingers through her hair, before his hand hit the ground, to weak to move it anymore. 'Haku…I…I love you.' He said before the life finally faded from his eyes as Kakashi closed them for him, he sat there staring at him a moment before he finally returned to Kurenai to go get the bridge builders.

'You may have been the demon of the hidden mist village Zabuza, but you weren't a demon, you were just misunderstood just like so many other shinobi, treated as an outcast by your own village…. You may have almost killed my students and even myself, but I still can only hope that you are resting peacefully in the afterlife….. both you and Haku…..' Kakashi thought as he looked up into the sky.

"Kakashi? Are you coming or not?" he heard a voice call out to him, that instantly brought him out of his thoughts.

He quickly took one last glance at Zabuza and Haku, before turning around and nodding, "Yes, let's go." He said sternly, as they took off towards Tsunade's house, hoping his students were all still ok.

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Naruto's eyes slowly opened, as he rubbed them back and forth with his hands. He looked around from his spot on his pillow, he looked at the greenish ceiling and instantly knew that he was inside Tsunami's house in his room. He had a sweat rag on his head, and there was a bucket of warm water on the wooden brown table next to his bed on the right side. Naruto tried moving his head, but a pain stretched across his entire being.

Naruto felt awful, like he had fallen asleep on a bed full of needles that had stabbed every part of his body. He could remember everything that had happened so well though. He remembered the hidden mist demons Zabuza and Haku and the evil and horrifying looks on their faces as they stood there and smirked at them as they trembled in fear. He remembers the mist and the thick fog surrounding then entire area, so much that it would suffocate almost any normal person. He remembers the demon Haku, laughing in the back ground as he kept trying to attack her, and only being knocked back down harder every time he tried. He remembers the looks of pure terror on Sasuke and Hinata's faces as he kept getting back up and trying. Then when Sasuke saved him, and landed a block on Haku, then as Naruto launched into the air and sent Haku soaring right into the ground with his foot with as much power as he could muster up. Then as he fell to the ground in exhaustion, thinking they had won, but Haku somehow had survived. He remembers watching helplessly as his teammates fought for their lives. Then Haku knocking Hinata out, as he screamed out in agony, and then… Sasuke…. He died to save him….. He remembers the voice in his head to take the power that was being handed to him, as Haku laughed evilly in the back ground. Naruto remembered the pure rage and anger that took over his body as he lashed out at Haku with as much force as he could come up with, and then he remembers looking into Haku's terrified face, feeling great as she called him a demon in fear, and then he killed her, but after that he didn't feel great at all, as he landed on the ground in a exhausted heap as he heard the laughter of the same creature that had given him the power laughing in the background.

Naruto remembered it so vividly, because he had relived this sequence over and over in his mind for as long as he had been out cold. He thought it was just a dream at first, but now he knew it was real…. Very real, and Sasuke… he was really dead…..

He slowly sat up from his bed and looked around slowly as the light in the room blurred his vision. When he finally regained his vision he saw the most beautiful pair of eyes, just as he had remembered them, staring back at him with a shocked and happy look on her face.

"N-Naruto, Y-You're awake!" She yelled in happiness, as she stood up and hugged him unaware at that time what she had done, as she really hadn't really cared in that moment.

Naruto was shocked at first at her sudden hug, and turned a little red, but slowly returned it.

"Y-Yes Hinata, I'm glad to see y-you to, but umm, you're kinda c-crushing me here…" he said a little disappointed, as he was kinda oddly enjoying the hug, even though he couldn't really breathe because of how hard she was hugging him.

Hinata turned red fast, as she finally realized that she had hugged him, and how hard she had, and quickly let go and sat back down, red as a tomato, and poking her fingers together nervously.

Naruto just chuckled at her nervousness, "Sorry Hinata, I really did enjoy our hug, I just couldn't breathe, that's all." He said smiling.

"Oh…" she said with a smile as well, still just as red though.

Then Naruto's face went from happiness to pure sadness, as he looked down at his sheets.

Hinata looked at him concerned, "W-What's wrong Naruto?"

Naruto looked up at her with sadness in his eyes, "You know what's wrong Hinata… that demon Haku… She…. She killed him….. She killed Sasuke…he's dead and it's all my fault!" he yelled out in anger.

Hinata looked at him shocked, "Naruto! How can you say that, you can't blame yourself for anything that evil demon did!"

Naruto looked at her and shook his head, "But I can Hinata, Sasuke died trying to save me… trying to save me Hinata!" he yelled as tears started to form in his eyes. "He had a dream Hinata….. and he threw it all away for me….. be-because I was to weak! I Just Don-

"NARUTO!" Hinata roared angrily at him.

Naruto just stared at her dumbfounded, he had never heard her, or anyone for that matter yell so loud before, and coming from Hinata it was the most shocking thing he had ever seen or heard. It completely paralyzed him as he gave her his full attention.

Hinata looked at him with determination in her eyes, "Listen to me Naruto, you can't blame yourself for what happened to Sasuke! That was that demon's fault completely and no one else's, and if it wasn't for you in the first place giving me and Sasuke the courage to fight back then we all would have died anyway! Your not weak Naruto, you're the strongest person I know, and without you we all would have died Naruto, so please, don't blame yourself… I hate seeing you this way…" Hinata said with sadness in her eyes.

Naruto still couldn't help but blame himself though even after her words, "Bu….But Sasuke….. he's dead…."

Hinata looked at him and smiled, which confused him, "Naruto…..Sasuke….He's…..He's not dead."

The words echoed through Naruto's mind as he tried to process them, but he couldn't hardly believe them.

"R-really?" he said with a shocked expression.

She smiled again, "Yes."

Naruto sat there for a moment completely motionless, but then he suddenly jumped up from his seat on the bed and yelled happily, as he picked Hinata right out of her seat, and spun her around as he laughed, which made Hinata blush madly.

This continued for about a minute, when suddenly he dropped her and hit the ground panting. Hinata crouched down beside him instantly.

"Naruto! Are you ok?" she asked worriedly.

Naruto looked up and rubbed the back of his head smiling though, "Yeah…. I guess I probably shouldn't be doing stuff like that feeling the way I do." He said sheepishly, as his stomach then rumbled loudly which made Hinata blush again.

Naruto turned a little red as well and laughed, "Guess being out cold for so long can make you really hungry huh? How long was I out anyway?" he asked curiously.

Hinata poked her fingers together, "Four days….."

Naruto looked at her in shock, "Four Days! What the Hell, I've never been out that long before!"

Suddenly the door busted open, and in came Kurenai and Kakashi sensei, as well as all his teammates.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to wake up from his little nap." Kiba said grinning.

"Yeah, we were all starting to get worried there little squirt." Sasuke said smiling, stepping out in front of everyone.

Naruto stared at him in shock, it was true…. he…. he really was a live!

Sasuke smiled, "What is it you little freak? You act like you've seen a ghost."

Naruto smiled, "Sasuke!" he yelled as he quickly ran up to him and hugged him, which caused everyone to laugh and make Sasuke turn red.

"Alright, alright, I'm oddly glad to see you too knucklehead, but no hugging!" he said as he tried to push him off.

Naruto let go, and rubbed the back of his head and laughed with everyone else.

Naruto then looked up at everyone and frowned, "So….. is it really true that I've been out for four days?"

Kurenai laughed, "Yup, four days exactly, we actually just finished the mission yesterday though, as the bridge took quite a lot of damage from your battle, so your little nap didn't cost us too much time, and Tsunade and Tazuna were happy to have us until you woke up."

"Well I'm glad I didn't cause too much trouble." he said as sat back down on his bed yawning. "Weird, I still feel tired though." Which caused everyone to laugh, much to Naruto's annoyance.

"Don't you think you've slept enough? Sheesh." Kiba said as Akamaru barked in compliance.

Naruto grinned, "Yeah, yeah Kiba… I can't help how my body feels!" he yelled back.

"Well, it is 11 p.m. anyway so it's past bed time for all of us anyway, so get your rest Naruto. Cause tomorrow we'll be leaving out for Konoha finally." Kurenai said as everyone smiled at the thought of returning home, it had been one hell of a trip.

"Alright, sounds good to me!" Naruto yelled back.

"Alright then, we'll leave you two alone then so you can sleep, we have a few things to discuss tomorrow though when we get back to Konoha, but we'll get to that then. Good night." Kurenai said, as everyone else complied and said the same, as they left Hinata and Naruto alone in their room again.

Hinata slowly climbed into her bed on the other side of Naruto, worn out as well, and happy Naruto was finally awake and ok.

Naruto stared at the chair in front of his bed for moment. He then looked over at Hinata and smiled as a thought crossed his mind.

"Hey Hinata."

Hinata looked over at him, "Yes Naruto?"

"Were you sitting by my bedside the whole time I was out cold…?" he asked curiously.

Hinata turned red not sure what to say as saying she had would sound a bit weird, "uhh….Well ummmm…well you se-"

"Thank You." He said with a smile.

Hinata looked over at him confused at first, but then smiled, "Y-You're welcome N-Naruto." She said happily.

"Good Night Hinata." Naruto said happily as he turned off the light.

"Good Night Naruto." She said happily, as they both feel asleep quickly, both feeling exhausted, but also happy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto awoke the next day feeling completely refreshed. The sleep had completely healed him up, and after he ate break feast that morning he was feeling even better than he ever had before.

Naruto was packing up his stuff in his room, and putting on his extra set of weights back on, as his normal set had broken off during his fight against Haku. Everyone was waiting for him downstairs so they could finally leave when he heard a weak knock on his door.

"Come in." he said a bit confused, wondering who it was.

In walked a little boy with a weird hat on, it was Inari. He hadn't seen him much the whole week after they had had their little confrontation, except for dinner of course where he just sat and remained silent though, but now here he was in his room staring at him.

"Hey Inari, what do you need?" Naruto asked curiously.

Inari surprisingly looked up and smiled, "I….I just wanted to say that I'm… I'm sorry."

Naruto looked at him confused, "Sorry for what?"

"Sorry for saying those things before that I said…. I…I just couldn't believe that anyone could ever defeat Gato….. He had done so many horrible things to us in the past. He had sucked all the hope completely dry from this village and from me, and yet you ninja came here and put your lives on the line courageously, knowing you could die. Yet you didn't care, you fought for what you believed in, just like my father would have wanted me too… and now I finally see that… Thank you Naruto." Inari said with knew found courage and determination in his voice.

Naruto looked at him and smiled, as he patted him on the head, "I'm glad Inari, your father…..he'd be proud." Naruto said as Inari looked at him happily.

Inari looked at him shocked, "Y-You really mean that?"

"I really do." Naruto said sincerely as he smiled.

"Now, I gotta go, my teammates are waiting on me." Naruto said as he picked up his backpack and put it on his shoulders and walked to the door before turning around one last time, "Stay strong Inari….. not just for your village, and not just for your father….. but for me too." Naruto said smiling.

Inari looked at him and smiled back, "I will! I promise you Naruto!"

Naruto gave him a thumbs up, "I'm glad, hopefully one day I'll see you again Inari, goodbye." He said as he waved and made his way out.

"Goodbye Naruto!" Inari yelled happily as Naruto left downstairs, Inari finally had a new role model in his life and new found courage and determination, and he wasn't about to let him down anytime soon.

Naruto walked down, and walked outside, meeting up with his teammates as they all had impatient looks on their faces.

"It's about time Naruto! We've been waiting for nearly ten minutes!" Kiba yelled impatiently.

Naruto just smiled, "Sorry guys, just got caught up in something on the way down." He said, as he joined the rest of his group of Kiba and Hinata.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Shikamaru then walked up to them. They all stared at them confused, wondering what they were doing, as Sakura began speaking.

"Everyone and I especially would just like to apologize to you all for our actions towards you this week, especially you Naruto…. We were all sorta cold towards you this week, and we are very sorry…Naruto…..I'm especially sorry for how mean I've been to you in the past Naruto…. And I promise….things will be different from now on." She said as she looked up and smiled at him.

Naruto looked at her confused at first, but then smiled, "It's ok Sakura, I'm just glad you're finally trying to change, so hopefully we can be friends from now on?"

Sakura smiled, "I'd like that." She said happily, as Naruto nodded.

Sasuke then walked up and looked him in the eyes, "I'm sorry as well Naruto, your still a knucklehead, but you're not a loser, and without you… I'd be dead…" Sasuke said, remembering Naruto yelling at him right before he was about to join his parents in the afterlife, before he gave him his determination again, determination to live.

Naruto looked at him confused, as he brought his hand out in front of him. Naruto stared at it a moment, before smiling and taking it and shaking it hard.

Sasuke smiled, "Don't think this changes anything though, we're still rivals."

Naruto smirked, "I wouldn't have it any other way Sasuke." As Sasuke smirked back at him.

Shikamaru just rolled his eyes, "Oh god, you guys are so damn dramatic…how troublesome…."

Sakura then grabbed his shirt threateningly as she brought her first up to his face, making his whole face turn into fear.

"Don't you have something to say Shikamaru?!" Sakura yelled angrily.

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry for being an ass to all you guys! Is that good enough for you!" he yelled in fear.

Sakura dropped his shirt with a grin, "Much better." She said happily wiping her palms.

Everyone sweat-dropped, and then eventually started laughing, much to Shikamaru's annoyance.

Then with a puff of smoke their sensei's appeared, along with Tazuna, with happy smiles on their faces.

"Good to see you guys are here on time, ready to go?" they both asked too their teams.

"YES!" everyone yelled, glad to finally get out of there, and back to home sweet home.

Kurenai and Kakashi smiled at both of their team's eagerness, "Alright then, let's go." They both said as they started walking and their teams complied and followed.

Tazuna waved as Tsunami and Inari walked out of the house as well, smiling and waving as well.

"Goodbye! And thank you for all you have done, you have all given us hope again! You truly are heroes!" Tazuna yelled, as they walked off into the distance, as Naruto turned around and stopped as he gave them a thumbs up, before turning around and rejoining his team.

"Hey Naruto." Kurenai said with a grin as he rejoined them.

"Yeah sensei?"

"I heard they named the bridge after you. The GreatNarutoBridge…. pretty fitting wouldn't you say?" she said snickering at him, as everyone laughed a little.

"Yeah, I'd say so." Naruto said smiling, as they kept walking towards Konoha, ready to get back the village they all knew and loved.

**Author's Notes:**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please Read and Review and tell me what you think.**

**Sorry this chapter took a tad bit longer then usually to get out, was suffering from a little bit of writer's block, as I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to go with the story in this chapter and onwards. I finally figured it out though as you saw haha, and I have a good idea of how I want to go about things now.**

**So yeah, not a lot of Naruto and Hinata in this chapter, but it felt necessary to me to put a little more time on the other characters like Sasuke. Hopefully you guys liked it either anyway, and I promise, there will definitely be more of Naruto and Hinata and the rest of Team 8 in the next chapter ;)**

**Anyway, I updated my profile with a little bit of facts about me, not sure if any of you care, but If you do then check them out if you like! Until next time, peace out.**

**- Riley**


	9. Chapter 9: Rivalries and Discoveries

**Disclaimer: I Don't own Naruto, but I do really enjoy watching and reading it!**

**All the 'X's' still mean the same as before as in previous chapters.**

**Chapter 9: Rivalries and Discoveries**

Naruto awoke the next morning bright and early from the comfort of his own apartment, eager to get to training. After they had finally returned home, it was already eight p.m. so by the time they had got done returning to the Hokage's office and telling him everything about their adventure it was just about bed time for everyone.

The hokage had been shocked by everything that had transpired; from the enemies they faced it automatically put the mission at an 'A' ranked mission. Of course they only got C ranked money for the job, which didn't bother them much, but Sarutobi didn't seem very happy about it. He had been pretty mad at himself and their senseis for risking everyone's lives like that, but he also couldn't help but feel proud of everyone. It was the life of the ninja, and in this life people died everyday, it was just hard too accept sometimes. He was just glad everyone was ok in the end, and he sent them home at about ten o'clock, so everyone just said their good byes and went home. Kurenai sensei told them to meet up at eight o'clock the next day in the morning for some training. It was later then usual, as they were use to waking up at five, but Kurenai wanted them to get some extra sleep because of the long journey, and no one complained.

Naruto wasn't really that tired though like everyone else though, after he had gotten his sleep the night before, he had woken up full of energy, and even the long walk home had barely tired him out any. So he ended up waking up earlier then he needed to the next morning unintentionally. After he had ate some instant ramen, brushed his teeth, took a shower, and put his trademark orange clothes on he still had an hour left until he had to be at the training grounds. So he decided he'd just take a little walk before heading out.

'I hope this walk doesn't end up like last time with me getting my butt kicked.' He thought chuckling to himself as he made his way out of his apartment and on to the streets of Konoha, 'but maybe this time I'll actually be doing the butt-kicking.' He thought smirking as he started walking down the street.

Naruto looked around, the city was just as he remembered it, he had been gone for nearly two weeks, yet the same angry and cold stares he got from the villagers hadn't left at all. They were still swearing under their breathe, and pushing their children behind them as he walked by, as if even looking at him would cause them all to go mad and crazy. Naruto didn't care though, it use to bother him before, but now he didn't need their approval he realized. He had friends now that cared for him, that actually knew the real him, and actually liked him for _him._ Not like all these people that just judged him because of the demon inside of him. If they wanted to think of him as a demon then just let them, one day he would prove to them he wasn't, and one day he would become hokage whether they liked it or not, and there's nothing they can do to ever stop him from accomplishing his dream…... Nothing…..

That's when Naruto thought of something he hadn't before, he suddenly stopped in the middle of the street as he finally realized it.

'His best friends, Hinata and Kiba, they liked him for him, yet the thing is they didn't even know about the demon inside of him at all. All these people hated him for the demon inside of him, what if his friends hated him too when he they found out, what if they all just ignored him just like everyone else in the village did when he told them…..? No…. he couldn't risk that…not yet anyway. He would just not tell them…...but they were his best friends though, if they really were shouldn't they be able to accept him for what he was? That's how it all went in the stories he had read, the best friend would have a secret he kept to himself, and when he finally shared it, his friends had understood and accepted him for it…. but what if it really was just that…. just a story….?' He thought as he started walking again.

'I….I don't know what'd I'd do if I ever lost them….. They have made my life turn from a living hell to something worth living for… Kiba, Kurenai sensei, Hinata….. even Sasuke, Sakura, and Shikamaru were his friends now.' he thought, chuckling to himself at the thought of actually being friends with Sasuke, 'If I ever lost them though…..I…..I'm sure how I could ever live with myself anymore… I….I'd probably go crazy…I just can't tell them then, not yet anyway. Hopefully I can one day when the time is right, but right now I just can't risk it. I just hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the butt.' Naruto thought worriedly, as he continued to make his way down the street, hoping everything would turn out ok in the end.

Naruto was almost to the outskirts of town, when suddenly all hell broke lose.

"Someone Stop Them!" he heard a woman yell inside a bank to the right of him. Suddenly two men both wearing a black ski mask and black clothes came running out of the bank in a hurry, both of them with large duffel bags over their shoulder filled with cash.

Naruto looked at the scene confused for a moment, and then he suddenly realized what was going on, they had just robbed that bank!

An old, large, and bald man then came running out of the bank, huffing and puffing trying to catch his breathe.

"Someone….Someone stop them!" he yelled from his knees out of breathe, as everyone watched in horror as the robbers began running.

A grin then made its way onto Naruto's face; this was his chance to finally show to the whole village that he was a hero and not a demon by stopping those crooks. Then maybe they'd start respecting him, and maybe even start liking him! Maybe he could even get a cool super hero name or something like, 'The Yellow Flash' he thought with a grin.

'Nah that's too cheesy.' he thought frowning and shaking his head.

As he stood there thinking hard about what his super cool hero name should be, a loud voice suddenly ringed in his ear.

"HEY YOU!" he heard someone yell at him, which instantly brought him out of his thoughts.

He looked up to see the large old man from before was looking at him angrily, "Why are you just standing there!? You're a ninja right!? Go and stop them!" he yelled out in frustration.

Naruto looked at him confused for a moment, but then it hit him; he had completely forgotten about the robbers as he was deep in thought. Naruto quickly nodded his head.

"You got it!" he yelled as he pushed the button on his weights to release them knowing he'd have to release them if he wanted to catch up to them. As soon as he felt them fall off of him he took off in the direction the robbers had went as fast as he could go, hoping they hadn't given him the slip.

The old man stood there in complete amazement and shock as Naruto's weights hit the ground with a thud leaving a huge mark in the ground, and then as he took off in a blast of lightning, only leaving behind a yellow streak.

"Wow… that little kid sure is fast." He thought as the eyes in his head bulged out as he scratched the back of his head in amazement.

Naruto quickly caught up to the robbers in a matter of seconds, smiling to himself to see his hard work he had put in with his weights training had paid off. Naruto quickly climbed up onto a rooftop and slowed down to match their speed as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. He pulled two kunai from his belt, ready to throw them at their legs to stop them in their tracks. As he was about to throw it though, suddenly two kunai went flying past his head and hit the two guys in the legs, hitting them in the exact marks Naruto was about to aim for.

Naruto quickly looked back and saw a girl around his age with a pink blouse on and brown hair in two buns standing on top of a faraway rooftop with a smirk on her face. Naruto stared at her stunned; she had thrown those kunai from nearly a half-mile away from the robbers, and hit them with deadly accuracy.

Naruto then looked back, and saw the robbers pulling the kunai knives out of their legs. They eventually managed to get up, but they both were walking with a limp now.

Naruto smirked, 'Guess I still can be a hero after all.' He thought as he pulled out his kunai again ready to jump down, when suddenly a green leotard streaked right past him on the rooftop. The green streak then jumped and landed right on top of both the robber's heads which sent both them into the concrete face first, effectively knocking them both out.

'That…..That looks like Rock Lee.' Naruto thought, as he stared at him from atop the rooftop. The boy then turned around with a smile and gave a thumbs up, confirming Naruto's suspicions. It was definitely him, with the same unbelievably thick bushy brows as last time.

"That was great Tenten!" he yelled out happily, as the same girl that had taken the men out with her kunai before jumped down next to him. "Thanks Lee." She said smiling back at him.

They both stood there for a second smiling at each other, when suddenly a man dressed in the same black ski mask and black clothes as the two robbers before jumped out of an alley-way, and ran straight at Lee with a kunai in his hand.

"Watch out Lee!" Tenten yelled out as Lee turned around and stared at the man running at him.

Naruto reached for his pouch and pulled his shuriken out from atop the rooftop, ready to throw them at the mad man before he reached Lee, but he was interrupted yet again as suddenly a boy popped out of no where and hit the man in the arm, which seemed to paralyze the man's whole arm and make him drop his kunai on the ground as he stepped back and yelled in agony.

The boy had an angry scowl stretched across his entire face as he pulled the man up by his shirt. He then slowly pulled one of his hands out and pointed two fingers at the man as he gathered chakra in them. The man could only look in fear as the boy slammed his fingers into the back of the man's neck, and dropped him on the ground.

The man started coughing up blood violently, he tried moving his body, but it just wouldn't seem to move at all; he could only move his head. He looked up in shock and horror at the boy who was grinning evilly, "Wha….What'd you do to me!" he yelled as he coughed up even more blood.

The boy just kept grinning though, "I severed the nerves from your brain to your body, and now you're paralyzed from the neck down permanently." He said coldly as he started to walk away, but then turned around with a smirk on his face, "You should be grateful though, I could have killed you, but I didn't…. I usually don't show mercy…. So be glad that you are not dead…" He said as he turned around again, as the man's head finally fell to the ground unconscious.

Naruto looked at him curiously from the rooftop, 'His moves… They were just like Hinata's…. he must be a Hyuuga too!' he thought shocked, as he watched him join Lee and the brown haired girl, whose name was apparently Tenten, since he heard Lee shout it.

Rock Lee turned to Neji with a mad look on his face, "What was that all about Neji! You didn't have to save me you know, I could have easily took him out!" he yelled angrily.

Neji just looked at him uncaring, "If you say so Lee, but to me it looked like you were frozen in place in fear, I was just helping you out."

"What!" Lee yelled, "I was not afraid! I was just waiting for the right time to strike! Yet you come in and have to steal all the glory as usual, and not only that but you paralyzed him from the neck down Neji, doing stuff like that to untrained civilians, robbers or not, is not the ninja way." Lee said as he crossed his arms, and looked Neji dead in the eyes.

Neji surprisingly just laughed though which just made Lee even angrier. When he finally got done laughing he looked up smirking to see a steaming mad Lee.

"Oh please Lee, the man didn't deserve any more mercy then I gave the pathetic bastard, he tried to kill you and me, yet here you are mad at me for stopping him. This is why you're weak Lee, and always will be." He said coldly as he turned his back to him and started walking away

Lee's whole face turned red with rage, "WEAK! I'LL SHOW YOU WEAK!" he yelled furiously as he started charging at Neji, but was stopped in his place as a hand grabbed him.

He looked back and saw Tenten holding onto him shaking her head, "Lee, you know how he is, and right now we have a mission to complete here, and fighting with each other won't help it all." She said with a serious face, as she squeezed his hand a little tighter.

Lee saw the seriousness on her face, and instantly calmed down, but still remained red. Not from anger though, from the fact that she was holding his hand.

Lee had a big crush on Tenten ever since he first met her, he usually was a courageous and outgoing guy, but whenever he was near her he felt his insides twist, and he suddenly became very shy. He had been her teammate for over a year now, but he still hadn't worked up enough courage to ask her out, he could talk to her and they were good friends, but every time he ever got close to ever trying to ask her out on a date, he would just tense up, and would end up looking like a fool, so he had given up trying some time ago. He still wanted to ask her out of course, as she was the prettiest kunoichi he had ever seen, but he knew he just didn't have the courage yet, he could only pray one day he would, and then he finally would.

When he was training he had to focus completely on his training and try to keep his eyes off her, otherwise he'd get too distracted and wouldn't be able to get anything done effectively. That's why he had so much willpower, because every time he would let her distract him and lose focus, guy sensei would make him sit in a corner with his face to a tree for twenty minutes. He actually liked training, so Guy Sensei knew that punishing him by making him do more work would just make him happy. So he punished him by making him do nothing at all, and Lee hated it, so he finally learned not to look at her at all while training. It was very hard, but it made his willpower better than anyone else's, and the results of his training from his pure focus and determination had certainly paid off, as he didn't know any other genin who was even near his level of skill when it came to taijutsu.

"Lee? You ok?" he heard a voice call out to him.

Lee looked up to see Tenten waving a hand in front of his face and looking at him curiously. Lee immediately turned red again, and backed up a little, "Y-Yeah I'm f-fine" he said laughing nervously and scratching the back of his head.

She looked at him curiously, but accepted his answer. She wondered why he had turned red again and was acting so weird. That's when she looked down, and noticed what it was, they were still holding hands.

She quickly jerked her hand away from his and turned around to hide the red that was quickly creeping up on her face as well, but Lee had been able to see it before she had turned away.

'Why did she turn red? She…..She doesn't like me too does she…..?' Lee thought shocked, deep in thought.

They stood there awkwardly for what seemed like forever, when they were suddenly saved by two men in masks, the Anbu Black Ops.

They both slowly walked up to them, "Good job on catching the robbers you two, the bank of Konoha owes you a big debt." One of them said as they both made their way over to the two robbers and picked them up.

"You're welcome….. but there is another as well…" Lee said pointing to the man on the ground to the right.

"Oh, well can you two come with us real quick then and bring him along then? I'm sure the hokage would like to congratulate you two as well if you did."

Tenten and Lee looked at each other, still a bit pink, and nodded at each other, "Sure." They both said as Lee went over and picked him up.

"Alright then, let's be on our way." One of the Anbu said, and they took off towards the hokage's tower.

Naruto stared at them as they left, he had thought about jumping down there and catching up with Lee and meeting up with his team, but decided against it once he saw him and Neji fighting. He didn't want to get mixed up in their little squabble.

Naruto looked around, 'Hmm, wasn't I suppose to be somewhere….?' He thought as he looked up at the sun and it suddenly hit him, 'Oh shit! I remember now, I was supposed to be at the training grounds to train an hour ago!' He thought frantically as he took off at his top speed from rooftop to rooftop.

'I hope Kurenai sensei isn't to mad…..' he thought as he shuddered a little at the thought of her glaring at him with her angry red eyes that could make any man crumble to their knees in fear, and continued on when suddenly he jumped to the next rooftop, and he was suddenly right on top of someone about to crash into them. Naruto prepared himself for impact, hoping he didn't hurt them to bad, but when he hit them; he was the one being pushed back onto his butt.

"Ow!" Naruto said rubbing his butt, as he got up and looked up he was shocked to see who it was, it was the same boy as before, the one with the menacing look in his eyes.

Neji looked at him and frowned, "You really shouldn't spy on me and my team like that, people who do that usually end up dead." He said coldly as he stared at Naruto with his arms crossed.

Naruto stared at him shocked and a bit frightened, 'His eye's…they're just like Hinata's…..yet they're also so different at the same time…..they….. they look so cold.' Naruto thought to himself.

"You…..Your eye's…you're a Hyuuga aren't you?" Naruto asked.

Neji looked at him curiously, "Why yes, it doesn't take a genius to figure that one out though. My name is Neji, Neji Hyuuga; now tell me, why were you spying on my team?" he asked in a threatening tone

Naruto then looked at him angrily, as he was suddenly unfrightened now, "I wasn't spying on your team! I was trying to stop the robbers until you and your team showed up, and took them out before I got the chance myself!" Naruto yelled angrily.

Neji just looked up and smiled though, "Ah, I should have known that's what you were trying to do. I guess my assumptions were right about you, you're just a weak genin ninja just like I though who was so marveled at me and my team's strength that you were shocked into place, pathetic." He said coldly as he began to walk away.

"What did you just say!?" Naruto yelled furiously, as Neji was walking away.

Neji turned around and smirked, "I said you were a pathetic weak little genin. Do you have a problem with that?"

Naruto clinched his fists together angrily, "You bet I have a problem with that! I'm not weak! My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and one day I will be Hokage, and I'll beat you right here and now to prove it! Believe it!" Naruto yelled angrily.

Neji stared at him for a moment, but then he started laughing, laughing hysterically, which made Naruto even more furious.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT!?" Naruto yelled raging from head to toe, his face bright red in anger.

Neji grinned, "It's just funny, because I've heard your name before, your Hinata's teammate aren't you?"

Naruto looked at him shocked, "You know Hinata?"

Neji frowned, "Well of course I do you idiot, all of us Hyuuga's know each other. Not only that but she's also my cousin."

"She…..She's your cousin….?" Naruto said surprised.

Neji smiled, "You seem so shocked, but yes, she is." He said as he started to walk away again, "In a way I feel bad for you…"

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto said confused.

Neji turned around again and smirked, "Because not only are you weak yourself, nut you have such a weak pitiful girl on your team as well. Hinata is the weakest of our whole clan, even her younger sister Hanabi is almost as strong as her and she's only seven. She's a disgrace to our entire clan." Neji said coldly.

Naruto could feel his blood boiling.

"Take that back right now!" Naruto screamed, as he clenched his fists together so hard they started to bleed.

Neji frowned, "Why?" he said emotionless as he crossed his arms together.

"Because she is not weak! She's one of the strongest ninjas that I know, and the strongest kunoichi of our entire class! How can you say something like that about your own cousin!" Naruto yelled in anger.

Neji smiled, "You think I care at all what you think? You obviously don't know Hinata at all if you actually think she's strong." He said as he laughed, "You might as well just give up now along with Hinata, I see you are just as weak and hopeless as her." He said coldly, as he turned around and began walking away yet again.

Naruto had had enough though, "I'LL MAKE YOU EAT THOSE WORDS!" He yelled ferociously as he charged at Neji with his full power and speed.

Neji turned around slowly and casually, not thinking Naruto was any challenge at all to him, but by the time he had turned around and opened his eyes, a fist as hard as steel had connected right in his jaw; which almost broke it, and sent him flying as he landed on the ground below with a thud.

Naruto almost fell off the rooftop as well at his own speed, 'Damn, I forgot I had my weights off, I gotta be more careful when I have them off or I might just end up hurting myself.' He thought as he looked down at the ground below as he was mere inches from going off the rooftop, 'But right now I got other things to take care of.' Naruto thought seriously as he jumped down onto the ground below.

When Neji had finally gotten over the punch that had nearly knocked him out, he looked up to see Naruto was already right on top of him again, and picked him up by his shirt as he looked at him angrily.

Neji spit a little blood out of his mouth on Naruto's face, "You…You little piece of worthless shit!" he yelled in frustration.

"You brought it on yourself, now who is the weak one." Naruto said with a smirk on his face.

Neji could only look at him with anger as he saw Naruto rear back to hit him again, when suddenly he saw a green blur out of the corner of his eye.

"Leaf Hurricane!" They both heard a familiar voice yell, but by the time Naruto had even started to try to put his hands up to defend himself knowing what was coming, a foot had already planted itself right in Naruto's stomach sending him flying back.

As Naruto was flying back four kunai suddenly appeared right in front of him and struck through his orange clothing as they nailed him to a tree. He tried moving to get free, but he couldn't, he was stuck.

Lee and Tenten then suddenly appeared right in front of Neji as Lee held out his hand to help him up.

"Neji! Are you ok?" Lee said concerned, but Neji just looked up at him with a look of anger stretched all across on his face and slapped his hand away.

"I'm Fine!" he yelled in frustration, "Or at least I was until you had to show up and interfere with my business! You little green leotard turd!"

Lee just looked at him confused, "But it looked like he was beating you up pretty bad Neji! I was only trying to help!"

"Yeah Neji, we just wanted to help." Tenten said.

"I don't need your help! I could have beaten that little orange shithead to pieces if I wanted to! He just surprised me that's all! Now about that little orange shithead…" he said as he turned and glared at Naruto with anger in his eyes, "YOU DIE!" he yelled furiously as he charged at Naruto as he gathered chakra into his hands to perform a fatal blow.

"Neji stop!" Lee and Tenten both shouted, but it was too late as he was already closing in on Naruto and they couldn't stop him now even if he wanted to.

Naruto looked on in horror, knowing these were probably his last moments, when suddenly he heard a familiar voice that made his whole body sigh in relief.

"Human Beast Combination: Spinning Tornado Jutsu!" he heard the familiar voice yell out, as he suddenly saw two figures popped out from behind the tree he was behind and formed powerful twisters and then combined to form an even more powerful tornado attack that was aimed right towards Neji.

Neji saw the attack coming though because of his Byakugan, "Kaiten!" he yelled as he suddenly and started spinning as well, and formed a spinning blue wall around his self.

The Tornado then struck Neji's Kaiten, as they fought each other for a moment, when suddenly the two attacks both simultaneously exploded, and caused a great powerful gust of wind, that sent Lee and Tenten flying through the air.

Naruto's cheeks and hair were flapping in the wind violently, when suddenly the tree he was plastered to suddenly came right out of the ground, and sent him flying through the air, along with the tree.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto yelled in horror as he saw the ground coming closer and closer as he free falled from the sky. Naruto tried moving around frantically, but he was still nailed tightly to the tree. Naruto braised himself for what he was sure was his certain doom, when suddenly he saw a white streak out of the corner of his eye. The streak came closer, and revealed itself to be Akamaru, Akamaru quickly jumped down on to a branch and then catapulted himself into the air and grabbed Naruto right off the tree right before the tree came crashing to the earth.

Naruto looked up at Akamaru panting, "Th-Thanks Akamaru…. I owe you big time….." Naruto said as he patted Akamaru on the head and Akamaru barked happily.

Kiba then jumped out of nowhere in front of Naruto with a smirk on his face.

"You sure know how to get into some sticky situations huh knucklehead?" he said playfully.

Naruto sighed, "You got that right man…. thanks for showing up man, I'd probably be dead if you didn't."

"No problem man, that's what friends are for." Kiba said smiling, which Naruto returned.

"If you guys think that you're getting out of this alive, then you're wrong!" They heard an angry voice yell out, as Neji then appeared on a branch above them, looking pretty beat up.

Lee and Tenten then appeared next to him, "Neji calm down! Let's just get out of here; killing them won't solve anything!" Lee yelled out furiously.

"Shut up you dobe! They'll pay for ever laying a finger on me." Neji said angrily, as he activated his byakugan.

Naruto and Kiba looked at each other smiling, and then looked up and smirked up at him, "If you think you can do it, then just try us!" Kiba yelled out confidently, as he tossed a food pill Naruto's way, as he caught it and ate it.

Neji looked at them with a furious look in his eyes, "Fine! You both die then!" he yelled as he jumped down and ran towards them.

"Neji stop!" Tenten yelled out, as Lee just sighed and shook his head

Naruto and Kiba both looked at each other smiling as Neji came their way.

"You ready Naruto? It's time to show them our special combo move Jutsu! I can't wait to see the look their faces!" Kiba whispered excitedly.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, let's do it!" he whispered excitedly, as they started making hand signs in unison as they watched Neji closing in on them.

As they both finished up their hand signs, ready to unleash their new move on him, they suddenly felt someone grab both of their arms, and stop them, as they then saw a green blur go right past them as well and stop Neji in place.

Naruto looked back and saw Kurenai sensei with a serious look on her face, with both Kiba's and Naruto's arms in her hand.

"NARUTO! KIBA! What on earth are you doing!?" she yelled furiously.

Naruto and Kiba both looked at her with fear on their faces, "W-We have an e-explanation s-sensei…" Naruto said nervously and frightened.

"Well it better be a damn good one!" Kurenai shouted.

"It is!" Kiba yelled back with determination in his eyes, "I'm not sure what exactly happened before I got here, but when I did Naruto was pinned to a tree, and that boy over there was just about to kill him!" Kiba yelled pointing at Neji.

"What!?" Kurenai shouted furiously as she let go of their arms. She looked over at where Kiba was pointing and saw a white eyed boy with a furious look of killing intent stretched across his face, who was currently being held back and yelled at by Guy. Kurenai instantly recognized who it was by his eyes; he was a Hyuuga just like Hinata, Neji Hyuuga.

Kurenai then walked up madly to Guy sensei, who also had a mad look on his face.

"I hear from my students that your student right there tried to kill Naruto! Can you not control your own students Guy!?" Kurenai yelled with anger.

Although usually Kurenai's intense gaze and ferociousness would scare anyone, and make them cower in fear, Guy surprisingly just stood there with a stern look on his face, with his arms crossed.

"Well from what I hear Kurenai, it seems your little orange genin brat was the one who started it first!" Guy yelled back at her, glaring at her angrily.

Kurenai just glared right back at him with even more intensity, "I don't care who started it Guy! That still doesn't excuse the fact that your student tried to kill my student!"

"Well from what Neji told me, he was only protecting himself, and that he had just helped stopped some robbers when your student attacked him, so I think it's you that needs to control your students!" Guy yelled back furiously.

Kurenai just looked at him and sighed, "Whatever Guy, I don't have time for your stupid obnoxious self, me and my team have to get to training." She said as she huffed and started walking away.

"Fine, I guess we'll settle this at the exams then, if you even dare enter them! Then we'll see which one of our teams is stronger, come on guys, we have to get to training too." Guy said as he took off into the forest.

They didn't follow him immediately though, as Neji, Lee, and Tenten all walked up to Team 8.

Kurenai thought of telling them to go on, but decided against it as she thought their words might make her team even more determined and that they needed to blow some steam out, so she just sat back and watched.

"I'd just like to let you know that if you shouldn't enter the exams if you value your life, because if you do there won't be anyone there to stop me from crushing all of you next time." Neji said coldly, as he turned and left in a fast pace.

"Wow, what a jerk." Naruto said angrily.

"Ha, don't worry about it Naruto, he's just mad cause we kicked his butt so good." Kiba said smirking.

Naruto looked at him and smirked back, "Yeah, you got that right."

Lee then turned and looked right at Naruto, "You must excuse Neji, he's just very upset right now." He said sincerely, but then looked at Naruto with a determined face, "But if we do see you in the chunin exams and we do fight, then just know that you will lose." Lee said arrogantly with a smile as he clenched his fists together.

Naruto huffed, "Yeah, whatever bushy brow, you may have wiped the floor with me last time, but next time it'll be different, believe it!" Naruto yelled confidently.

Surprisingly Lee just kept smiling, "I'm glad to see your confidence and determination has not faded since our last fight, and that the fire of youth still burns deeply within you." He said as he turned around, "Come on Tenten, let's go."

"Right." She said as she turned around as well, "Guess we'll see you guys later then." Tenten said with smirk, as her and Lee took off after Neji and Guy Sensei.

Naruto sighed, "Man, I'm glad they are finally gone. They are seriously way too weird for me to handle."

Kurenai laughed, "That's pretty funny coming from you Naruto, seeing as your one of the weirdest boy's I've ever meet." Kurenai said, as Kiba laughed as well.

Naruto pouted, "Yeah….but they take weird to a whole new level…. And that Neji dude is so full of himself and cold it's sickening."

Naruto then looked at Kiba puzzled, "So Kiba…..How'd you know that I was in trouble anyway?" Naruto asked confused.

Kiba grinned, "I didn't to be honest, after you didn't show up to the training grounds after about an hour, we were all worried something had happened to you, knowing it wasn't like you to be late for training. So Kurenai sensei sent me off to try and find out where you were, I looked through Konoha for about ten minutes when I finally saw that guy with the weird green leotard and the girl with the brown hair heading off somewhere in a hurry, so I decided I'd follow them to see what they were up too, thinking maybe I'd find you, and I did." Kiba said laughing.

Kurenai laughed as well, "Seems trouble just follows you everywhere huh Naruto?"

Naruto sighed, "Yeah I guess so sensei… so…. umm…..where's Hinata at?"

"Oh, I told her to wait at the training grounds; I knew something bad had happened when I saw a big puff of smoke in the distance. So I came running after you, Hinata begged me to come, but I didn't see any use in it, and I had a new jutsu I wanted her to practice on as well. So anyway, let's not leave her waiting anymore, I'm sure she's worried, especially about you Naruto." Kurenai said with a smirk, which made Naruto surprisingly turn a little red.

"Yeah…..let's get going then." Naruto said as he took off, knowing she was trying to embarrass him, and Kiba followed.

'Hey, I'm the one who is supposed to take off first….' Kurenai thought a little mad, but then took off after them catching up to them quickly as they made their way to the training grounds.

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After about ten minutes, Lee and Tenten had finally caught up to Neji, who was jumping from each branch ferociously and quickly as he could with a serious look on his face.

"You really are in a hurry Neji; it took us a lot longer than I thought it would to catch you." Lee said with a grin on his face.

Neji looked back and looked at them a little surprised, had had been so caught up in his own thoughts and anger he hadn't even noticed them right behind him. That definitely wasn't like him since he was almost never caught off guard because of his byakugan.

He suddenly stopped on a wide tree branch and Lee and Tenten did the same. He noticed Lee looked unsurprisingly fine, but Tenten looked like she was about to pass out, as her face was red and sweat dripped from her face as she dropped to her knees panting hard.

"Damn it Lee, I thought I told you to slow down! You know I can hardly keep up with you." She said in an exhausted tone.

Lee just looked at her and grinned as he scratched the back of his head, "Sorry Tenten, I guess I didn't hear you, I just wanted to reach Neji before he reached the training grounds." Lee said as he then turned and looked at Neji with a serious face.

Neji looked at him questionably, "You wanted to reach me before I got to the training grounds? What for?"

Tenten then looked up at him with a serious face too now that she had finally caught her breathe, "Oh come on Neji don't act dumb, you tried to kill that yellow haired boy. We wanna know what he did to make you so mad, I've never seen you that mad before, and that's saying something."

Neji looked at them both, and then sighed, "Let's just say I was already pretty mad before he had shown up anyway, and after we had talked he had made me even angrier. Then he landed a sucker punch on me which almost broke my jaw, and after that I just blew." Neji said as he clinched his fists in anger as he remembered the punch.

Lee and Tenten both looked at him shocked, "A sucker punch…..on you…..? But you're never caught off guard Neji, how did he manage that?" Lee asked shocked.

"Well, lets just say he was faster than I had imagined, which is why he had been able to catch me off guard because by the time I had turned around his fist was already in my face..." Neji said as he could feel his anger building up even more.

Lee looked at him shocked, "What!? No way, I've fought that kid before one day in the forest before one of our training sessions, and I had outclassed him in speed greatly, even if you were caught off guard there's no way he could have hit you!" Lee yelled.

Neji smirked, "Well I guess he's gotten faster then the last time you fought him Lee… a lot faster. I'd say he's even somewhere near your own speed Lee."

"What!? That's impossible, we just fought like three weeks ago, there's no way he could have made that much progress in such a short time!" Lee yelled out in complete shock.

"Well I don't know how he did it Lee, but he really is that fast whether you like it or not." Neji said smirking at Lee's shock, but then his face then took a serious look, "But yet the thing is he's not even the one I'm worried about…" he said as he looked off into the forest.

"What do you mean Neji?" Tenten asked confused.

Neji then turned and looked at their confused faces with a bit of anger on his, "It was that other boy…. The Inuzuka, he's the one I'm worried about."

Tenten at him puzzled at first, but then started chuckling, "Kiba Inuzuka? The dog boy?" she said as she her chuckles turned into laughter, "Why in the world would you be worried about him?"

Neji just looked at her with his usual serious face, "It seems a bit funny I know, but his chakra….. it….it was unlike anything I've ever seen." He said a bit amazed.

Tenten's laughter stopped after he said this, as she then looked at him confused again, "What do you mean? How can someone's chakra look different?"

"Yeah, shouldn't everyone's chakra look the same?" Lee asked confused as well.

"Yes I know, but it isn't just his chakra that worries me, it was his attack as well. His tornado jutsu was strong enough to not only hold my kaiten, but get past it a little bit as well, and nothing has ever been able to get past it." Neji said as he gritted his teeth in frustration, "But the weirdest thing of all is even after an attack like that he had pulled off against me, he didn't even look a bit fatigued. After a chakra extensive attack like that his entire chakra reserves should have been nearly depleted, especially for a genin, yet he looked like the attack hadn't even affected him at all, that's when I decided to turn my byakugan on, and that's when I saw it… his chakra… it…it was a different color then usual, instead of the usual light blue color it was a very very dark and even evil looking blue…. And the weirdest thing is it looked there almost no stop to it….. almost like he had a never ending chakra supply that never ran out…." Neji said as he looked down at the ground.

Lee and Tenten both looked at him in shock, "But how is that possible!? How can someone have a never ending supply of chakra, and how is it possible for it to be a different color!?" Tenten yelled out.

"I don't know, but the funny thing is that the yellow haired boy, Naruto, had a similar look to his chakra as well. It was a different color as well, a raging almost fire like red that looked evil as well. It was even more intense looking than Kiba's chakra, but it didn't look never ending though, but it was certainly beyond anything even a jounin could have ever hoped to accomplished." Neji said in a serious tone.

"What!?" Tenten yelled out in disbelief, "How can they both have so much chakra and different colors as well? What are they?"

Neji sighed, "I don't know the answer to that question either, but they're definitely both ones to keep our eyes on. I don't think we need to worry much about the Uzumaki kid, but the Inuzuka is definitely intriguing. If he can blow out attacks like that and it not even affect him the slightest at all then he could certainly be an extremly powerful opponent in the upcoming chunin exams…. Oddly it doesn't scare me though… it actually excites me….. A lot." He said as he looked up and grinned.

Lee looked at him and grinned as well, "That's what I'm talking about Neji! I knew the power of youth ran strong in you! We'll show them all what we are really made of, then they will be ones who will be left in amazement!" Lee said as he clenched his fists together with a determined look on his face.

Neji and Tenten both looked at him a moment, and then laughed.

"I don't know about the power of youth running strongly in me and all that, but yeah Lee, we will definitely show them just what we really are made of." Neji said with a determined look on his face as well.

"Alright then! We better get going then, we have training to do!" Lee yelled out in excitement.

"Yeah, plus if we leave Guy sensei waiting anymore he'll probably kill every one of us." Tenten said with a frightened voice.

Everyone gulped; as they all nodded in agreement as they took off into the forest towards the training grounds as fast as they could, all of them now really looking forward to the chunin exam.

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Naruto, Kiba, and Kurenai had finally made it to their training grounds, training area 13. Naruto had secretly been able to put on his weights again while they had been traveling. Kiba and Hinata still didn't know about him wearing weights, and didn't want them to know either as he wanted to still keep it a secret, so while they had been traveling he told them he had to pee and it couldn't wait. While they waited for him to get done he secretly did his 'Item Transport Jutsu' that allowed any item he had tagged to be instantly brought in front of him in a heap of smoke. After he had got done putting them back on, he had hopped back onto the branch that Kiba and Kurenai Sensei had been waiting on with a look of confusion as Kurenai was shaking her head and Kiba was smirking at him.

"Judging by that smoke I guess you had to do more than just piss huh Naruto?" Kiba had said playfully with a smirk.

Naruto just shrugged and turned a bit red from embarrassment as he realized what he meant.

"Well I guess if you got to go you got to go." Kurenai said playfully as well, "Anyway let's get going." She said before they took off again.

When they arrived at the training grounds, they had found Hinata had been sitting by the lake with a worried look on her face, but it instantly turned into a happy one as soon as she saw that they were back and that Naruto was ok.

She ran up to them, and shockingly gave Naruto a hug, which made Naruto turn a bit red.

"I'm so glad you are ok…..I….I thought something had happened to you when you didn't show up this morning. I-I knew something had to be wrong for you to ever be late for training….. and when I saw the big explosion off in the distance I…." she said as she looked at him as tears started to form around her eyes.

Naruto looked at her confused, 'She…..She was actually that worried about me?' he thought shocked. 'She didn't even know if my life had really been truly in danger, yet here she is crying tears for me….. she really does truly care.'

Naruto looked down at her and smiled as he wiped away one of her tears, "I'm sorry for making you worry Hinata….. and please….. don't cry, you know I hate it when you cry… it just doesn't suite a strong person like you." Naruto said sincerely as he continued smiling at her.

Hinata looked up at him with a happy look on her face; whenever he said she was strong it just filled her up with confidence and happiness. It was good to have someone that you cared about so much tell you that you were strong and that they believed in you, especially when your whole family didn't.

Hinata's crying stopped instantly, as she looked at him happily smiling, as Naruto returned her smile with his own handsome grin that sent chills down Hinata's spine.

They stood there for what seemed like an eternity to them, just staring at each other in the eyes, neither of them wanting it to end, when suddenly a voice boomed out that broke both of them their trance.

"Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds from hugging and looking into each other's eyes, but we do have training to do if you two can find the time to fit that into your busy schedules!" Kiba yelled out playfully, and smirking with his hands crossed.

Hinata and Naruto both instantly turned bright red as they realized what they had been doing in front of everyone as they quickly broke apart from each other. Hinata poked her fingers together nervously, and Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously as well as they both looked at the ground embarrassed.

This caused Kiba to burst out in laughter, which made both of them turn even more red from embarrassment.

'Lovebirds? Did he just call us lovebirds? That's not right though, me and Hinata are just friends….. besides why would she want to date a guy like me? I mean she's gorgeous… wait….I think she's gorgeous now!? When did that happen!? I mean I was just thinking she was pretty the other day, but now I think she's gorgeous? What's wrong with me, me and her are just friends, and that's that…. But she really is gorgeous…Oh god, what's wrong with me!' Naruto thought as he started slapping himself in the head.

Kiba started laughing even harder at the sight of Naruto slapping himself, as Kurenai just stood back and shook her head.

'I swear, they'll never become a couple with Kiba around….. and Naruto's cluelessness certainly doesn't help a bit either.' Kurenai thought sighing.

"So…..yeah…training…..yeah…. can we….you know…. Like….do that." Naruto said nervously, as he continued to scratch the back of his head.

Kurenai chuckled at his uncharacteristic nervousness, "Yeah sure kid, lets get to it, we're not getting anywhere just standing here."

"Awww come on sensei, can't we just let them keep standing there all nervous and embarrassed, it's hilarious." Kiba said as he laughed some more.

"Kiba I swear….I'm gonna kill you." Naruto said angrily.

Kiba was about to respond with something that would embarrass them both even more, but he was stopped by Kurenai before he could.

"Alright, alright, that's enough Kiba; it's time to get serious now. I've got some important stuff to tell you before we begin and some surprises as well, so come on, there's no time to waste." Kurenai said as she waved for them to follow as she headed to their normal sitting spot by the lake.

"Oh alright sensei….." Kiba said a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be able to embarrass them anymore, Naruto and Hinata both sighed, and felt the nervousness suddenly fade from them as they followed behind Kurenai sensei.

When they made it to their spots by the lake and took a seat, the familiar area automatically eased them again, as the running water flowed by, and the trees blew in the wind.

"Man does it feel good to be back here again." Naruto said as every one nodded in agreement.

"It sure does kiddo, it sure does." Kurenai said as she looked at her students proudly, as she remembered all they had endured during their mission. They had come so far in such a short time…. they definitely were true ninjas now.

"So, what is it you have to tell us that's so important sensei?" Kiba asked curiously.

Kurenai smiled, "Well I actually I have two important things to announce, both of which I'm not sure exactly how you'll react, but I think you'll like both."

Everyone looked at her with big eyes, "Well what is it sensei!? Are you finally gonna teach us how to do that go into the ground jutsu that you always do!" Naruto said as he jumped up in excitement.

Kurenai chuckled, "No, no, not yet anyway." She said with a smirk.

"Well what is it then!?" Kiba yelled, as he stood up as well.

Kurenai grinned, "You see, after seeing how much you all of progressed in the past few weeks I see that you guys have really become strong, which is why I think you all need a challenge now, one that will really test your skills and abilities to the max…. Which is why I have entered you all in the upcoming Chunin Exams!" she yelled excitedly, hoping everyone would like the news as well.

Everyone looked at her for a moment, but then everyone jumped up and danced around in excitement except for Hinata who just sat there with a happy look on her face at her teammate's excitement.

"Yeah! We're gonna be chunin!" Kiba yelled out happily.

"Yeah, Believe It!" Naruto yelled out happily, but then suddenly stopped jumping and dancing as he realized something.

"Umm sensei, I have a question." He said as he looked a bit confused.

Kurenai looked at him a bit confused as well, "Yes, what is it Naruto?"

"Well you see….. I don't actually know….what the chunin exams are?" Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head.

Everyone stared at him in amazement, wondering if he was for real. When they saw he was totally serious, they all sighed.

"Wow, I guess it is really true when they say your head is full of hot air huh? I mean how can a ninja not know what the chunin exams are?" Kiba said.

"Hey! Just because I don't know what they are doesn't mean my head is full of hot air!" Naruto yelled back angrily.

"Alright, alright chill out man, let me explain it all to you." Kiba said as he took a deep breathe.

"You see the chunin exams are the test that decides if a genin is ready to become a chunin or not. There's three parts to the test, which are different each year, as they are held in different villages each year. The genin that prove that they are the best of the best then get promoted to the rank of chunin if they are deemed worthy by the judges, and guess you could say that's the basics."

Naruto took in all the information, as he then suddenly jumped up again in excitement, "Well if this is a test to become a chunin then count me in!" he yelled out.

Kurenai chuckled, "Good explanation Kiba, it seems you were able to explain it fairly well to Naruto."

"Thanks sensei." Kiba said proudly.

"Yeah, Yeah, so where is it being held this year then?" Naruto asked.

Kurenai grinned, "Well it seems you're all lucky this year, as it's being held right here in the hidden leaf village!" Kurenai yelled out happily.

"Alright!" Naruto yelled out, "No need to travel anywhere then, I gotta tell you I was getting tired of traveling and walking places." Naruto said as his teammates nodded their head in agreement.

"I bet" Kurenai said smiling, "The exams will be held one week from now, it was actually suppose to be held tomorrow, but it got delayed as some other villages wanted some more time to prepare and get ready, and luckily that bought us some time to get a little bit more training in."

"Alright! I can't wait till we get to show everyone just what we are made of!" Naruto yelled out in excitement.

"Yeah man, we'll show everyone why we are the best genins in the whole world!" Kiba yelled out excited as well.

Kurenai smiled, "I'm glad to see you're all excited, but don't take this lightly, and definitely never underestimate your opponents. People die in these exams every year, and if you're not careful that could end up being one of you…. Which is why I want you all to be on your guard throughout the entire exam, and protect each other with all your power, if anything ever happened to one of you during the exam…..I….I'd never be able to forgive myself." Kurenai said concerned.

Naruto smiled, "Don't worry sensei, nothing will happen to anyone of my teammates during this exam while I still have breathe in my body…. Believe It!" Naruto yelled out, as his confidence seemed to fill everyone up with it as well yet again.

Kurenai smiled, "Your confidence can make anyone feel better Naruto, you really are something…"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Thanks sensei." He said happily at her compliment.

"So, w-what's the other surprise then sensei?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that one." She said as she then started to smirk, "This is one I'm not sure if you'll like or hate, but either way you're stuck with them." She said a bit evilly.

"Stuck with them? What do you mean sensei?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Naruto asked as well.

"Well you see, Kakashi and Asuma are also entering their students in the chunin exams as well…... So we decided it'd be best if we all trained together during the last week before the exams. So therefore Kakashi and Asuma's teams will be joining us everyday for the next week to train with us." Kurenai said grinning.

"What!? No way, you're kidding!" Naruto yelled out.

"Yeah, you have to be freaking kidding sensei! That Shino dude really creeps me out!" Kiba yelled out a bit frightened, but was also was happy too as this meant he'd get to see Ino again after such a long time if she was being for real.

Kurenai's grin just got bigger, "Nope, I'm not kidding one bit….. Ah, and looky there, here they are now." Kurenai said as she pointed behind them as everyone then turned around quickly.

When they turned around they saw that Kurenai wasn't kidding one bit. There they all were, all of Team 7 and Team 10. Ino and Sakura were standing beside each other glaring at each other and fighting as usual, and everyone else just stood there in their usual uncaring fashion.

"Yup it's definitely them alright….." Naruto whispered to himself, not sure if he should be excited, or just run away right now. He didn't really have anything against them, and him and Team 7 were all mostly friends now, but he wasn't exactly excited to see Team 10 though, as Chouji and Ino had both been pretty mean to him back in his academy days, especially Ino, and Shino just quite frankly creeped him out.

Kakashi then walked up a little and then smiled, "Sorry we're all a bit late Kurenai, you see we…"

"Ah shut up Kakashi, I don't need one of your damn excuses that was probably made up on the spot. Besides, you guys actually seemed to make good time today for once, as we actually just got here about fifteen minutes ago anyway and I just explained the chunin exams and you joining us to them." Kurenai said.

"Well I'm glad to see we actually made good time for once." Asuma said laughing a bit.

"Ha, I guess so Asuma, if only you could do that every time. Now come on we got work to do."

"Right come on guys." Asuma said as his team followed him and Kakashi's team did so as well as they followed him.

"Well, this should be interesting….." Naruto whispered to his teammates

"Yeah….." Hinata said back, not exactly sure how to feel either.

"You got that right Naruto." Kiba said happily, as he was now happy that he was going to get to spend a whole week with the girl of his dreams, Ino Yamanaka.

**Author's Notes:**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please Read and Review and tell me what you thought about it. Any suggestions or ideas you might have about my story to help make it better are much appreciated as well.**

**Would just like to give a quick shout out to all my reviewers from last chapter, seeing all of your compliments and support to my story really made me happy to know that you all seem to be enjoying my story so far, so thanks again! **

**Would like to give another big shout out to my two biggest reviewers; Rose Tiger and RedEye00. You both have been with me since almost the beginning, and you both have given me some really helpful reviews and a lot of support, so thanks a ton to both of you :)!**

**I've got some big things planned for this story, and it excites me even thinking about them, so yeah this story is far from over. Updates might take a little longer from now on though, as I'm planning on making my chapters around this length from now on and I don't have as much time as I use to to work on it, but I should still be able to update weekly.**

**Until next time, peace out.**

**- Riley**


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